Aim and Accuracy
by HorseLoverTW
Summary: Artemis commences her schooling at Gotham Academy. Familiarities abound and a new evil begins the path to terror as she starts to see that there might be more to the Boy Wonder. Season 1 complete.
1. Target 1

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I'm an ADD grad student looking to hit my muse over the head. I definitely do not own Young Justice. _

Artemis unconsciously tugged down on her skirt again. She understood the reasoning for uniforms, but did they have to be so… short? It felt more than a little sexist. Maybe she could put in a protest and get some slacks. Then again, who was the archer vigilante that strode around in a leather midriff costume? Oh yea… Maybe she could just learn to deal with the skirt.

As the Betty girl or whatever her name was introducing herself to Artemis, in a peppy, bordering on possible cheerleader/student class president way, a boy ran up behind Artemis, swung his arm around her shoulder and snapped a picture.

"We'll laugh about this some day."

Before she had a chance to even cry an indignant, "Hey!" however, the boy was gone. Like creepy ninja disappearing into shadows gone.

After getting the five-minute tour, plus the over-enthusiastic, 'you're going to love it here! Don't be a stranger' routine, Bette mercifully deposited Artemis at her first period class. As she gazed forlornly up at the door with the imposing heading of, 'ENGLISH,' Artemis bit her lip.

She thought of the desperate look on her mom's face as she'd begged Artemis to go to Gotham Academy. Her mother had gone down a dark path and now all of her hopes, all of her light, she kept in Artemis- to be a better student, a better warrior, a better person than she herself had been. Expectations were nothing new to Artemis, the doubt that plagued her as she stared at that door however...

This school had a reputation for being the best. Gotham City was huge. It had hundreds of public and private schools, and this was the best. Students that went here went onto Harvard and Yale and other frighteningly ivy-tinged places. Artemis wasn't sure how she had received the Wayne scholarship- she'd never even applied- but she did know that when she really wanted something, it was hers. Question was, how much did she want to pummel the rich kids on their own turf?

…About as much as she wanted Kid Flash to develop laryngitis.

Her resolve mounting, Artemis reached for the doorknob.

Just as another hand did.

"Hey," the kid said in a friendly tone, opening the door for her in a show of gallantry. He looked about a year or two younger than Artemis but that wasn't the first thing she noticed. The first thing she noticed were his eyes. They were a deep shade of blue, so emphatic she wondered if his world was tinged that way.

And they were connected to a familiar looking smirk. Artemis frowned. "You're that kid that snapped a photo of me. What gives?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just figured we'd be seeing a lot of each other."

"Yea, and why's that?" she said, narrowing her eyes at him as they entered the classroom.

"Well, I could point out that you're a scholarship kid- yea, word does travel fast here- and that implies that you'll be in the honors courses. Or, I could just say it's a feeling." He sat down in a seat near the back, next to the classroom's sole window and in front of the teacher's rather hefty bookshelf stuffed with literature and magazines. He pulled out his composition notebook and two pens that he proceeded to neatly arrange around his meticulously non graffiti-stained literature text.

Seeing that most of the other seats were already occupied, Artemis tentatively sat in the vacant desk beside the strange boy's. "So, you're a scholarship kid too then? Skipped a few grades or something?"

Again with the familiar looking smirk. "Something like that."

"Dick?" The teacher called.

"Present!" He yelled back enthusiastically.

Perfect, Artemis thought.

Dick hadn't been kidding.

Out of her eight classes, he was in five: English Literature, World History, Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, and French.

In French, the teacher had Artemis take an assessment while partner groups went over their assignments from last week. She turned it in five minutes later much to the teacher's arched brow that rose dramatically after the woman had actually looked her test over.

"C'est magnifique!" the woman exclaimed much to Artemis's horror. "This is wonderful! I know just who to partner you with!"

Just as Artemis knew she would, the woman reached behind her and seemed to grab Dick out of thin air. "You two will get along splendidly!"

The story was much the same in Pre-Cal except for the part where Artemis was awesome at it. She had been in the advanced math course at her old school, Gotham Heights, it was true. However, that had entailed algebra II, not pre-calculus.

By the time the elderly math teacher had gotten around to checking Artemis's practice problems, frustrated tears were on the verge of spilling forth. The man stared impassively at the tried and failed, tried, and then tried again and failed attempts on her paper before calling for Dick. "This young man is going to tutor you until you get your bearings sweetheart. Don't you worry. You'll catch up with us in no time." And then he left the two of them to help a girl that had been holding her hand up for so long she'd fallen asleep with it propped up in front of her. He'd never once even looked at Artemis's teary eyes, for which she was eternally grateful.

She raked a hand over her face and dropped her head onto the desk's cool top. Dick smiled and scooted his chair next to hers. "Hey, no sweat scholar-girl. Numbers are tools, not rules!"

Artemis groaned.

Lunch turned out to be the best part of the day, for at Gotham Academy students were allowed to take their meals and eat outside in the courtyard. There were picnic tables that seemed to be reserved for specific stereotypical groups such as the jocks, the techno-nerds, the cheerleaders, the emo crowd, and the preps. Well, scratch that last one, Artemis thought as she looked over the scene holding her primo cut of cardboard pizza and soggy mac and cheese aloft- turns out private school food was just as nasty as public- Most of the students here were preps. Heck, Artemis herself looked like one with the stupid skirt, tie, and crisp, white, regulation oxford tucked-in to perfection. Her mom had been so proud when she'd seen her that morning before Artemis had caught the subway she'd even taken a picture!

Away from the picnic tables was a grassy area with a few oaks. Scattered amongst the shade groves were students of a more indefinable category. It was towards them that Artemis pointed her sorry lunch.

Of course the problem of lunch is the social nature of it. Artemis had barely gone five feet onto the grass when Dick saw her and waved her over to where he was sitting with a pretty redheaded girl. Artemis, panicking that she'd be trapped forever chained to the odd younger boy, abruptly did an about face and ran smack into a beanpole. Her mac went flying into the grass but Artemis used her quick reflexes and managed to snatch her cardboard pizza just before it could make impact with a wiry boy's startled pale face.

"Uh…" she said, "Sorry about that."

The boy, actually man now that she saw him more clearly, for he was probably a senior, flicked off a few specks of cheese from his shirt, before impatiently tucking back an errant lock of dark, wavy brown hair. "Yes, well… At least you caught the pizza before we'd both have been really sorry."

Artemis was taken aback. "Umm…excuse me? I think what you're looking for here is, 'it's okay, don't worry about it, no harm, no foul.'"

He leveled his icy blue eyes on her. "You're new here."

"I'm aware of this," she shot back with a glare.

He studied her for several moments, his aristocratic face unreadable. Artemis didn't back down but was surprised when he finally broke the stare and said, "My name is Jon. Care to sit with me…

Deflating a little, Artemis heard her voice supplying, "Artemis," almost against her will.

"Artemis. Like the Greek Goddess famed for her virtue and skill with a bow?" He politely inquired, almost conversationally as he led her toward a vacated spot under a gnarled oak.

"Uh…sure…"Artemis wasn't usually at such a loss for words but the boy was unsettling. His entire presence was just…cold. But still, none of the other rich kids aside from Dick the smirkalot, were offering to sit with her so Artemis followed and added, "But I think my mom just has a thing for deer."

They sat under the tree and half-heartedly dug into their lunches, the senior's long legs looking as elegant as his piano fingers, curled up as they were beneath him Indian-style.

"So," Artemis said, painfully swallowing the last bite of the plastic cheese framing her cardboard slice of pepperoni. "I take it this is your last year here?"

He nodded. "Sophomore?"

"Yep. That obvious, huh?"

"You reek of it."

"Hmm… careful, I might think you have a sense of humor."

"Well, we can't have that," he said with a languid grin, finishing his lunch and leaning back against the trunk of the tree.

"Aren't seniors supposed to avoid lower classmen like the plague?" Artemis asked innocently, scooting a little closer.

His eyes glanced beyond her and he arched an eyebrow skeptically. "I could say the same for all upperclassmen avoiding the freshies. What's the deal with Grayson and you?"

Artemis didn't even have to look- though she did anyway- to know he was gesturing to Dick and his redheaded companion. Dick was surreptitiously glancing her way every now and then. When he saw that he'd caught her eye, he gave a grin and waved.

Artemis heaved a sigh. "We have a ton of classes together and the teacher's seem to think that we're primo partner material. Do you know anything about him? Like why he's even in my classes if he's a fish?"

"You mean you don't know who he is?" She shook her head. That seemed to surprise him but he told her, "Dick Grayson is Bruce Wayne's adopted son. He's also an apparent genius. He skipped two grades and is the captain of the mathletes." Jon said all this as though he were as fond of Dick and his celebrity status as Artemis was of hearing Oliver go on about Speedy.

_Dick Grayson._ Hmm… that would explain the giant trophy with his name… as well as the being thirteen years old and taking classes with fifteen year olds. But Bruce Wayne's adopted son! Really? The boy didn't seem stuck up in the least. He was a little irksome with his being clever at everything and annoyingly chipper in pretty much every class, but he wasn't what she'd have expected for the playboy billionaire's heir apparent. Not in the least.

"Oh." She said at last.

Jon's cool gaze ran over her once more, like glacial water. "This school can be a little intimidating but I thought a girl named after a Goddess wouldn't be so afraid."

"Hey, I'm not actually Artemis and I'm definitely not afraid."

"We'll see," he murmured indifferently.

The rest of the school day blurred on and by the time the last bell rang, Artemis would have given anything to strip Kid Obnoxious of his powers and super speed back home strait into her bed. Unfortunately, she had to go the achingly slow route of walking, subway, walking, more walking and then finally reaching her lonely home just as darkness was settling over the crumbling shamble she liked to call her neighborhood.

When she left for the transport to Mount Justice and ran into Robin, the boy wonder, she had no idea how much longer her day would become.

_A/N: I'm writing this with intent of fleshing out the interesting Robin/Artemis dynamic we glimpsed in the episode 'Home Front'. I'm going to try not to deal too much with what the episode already has covered but I might explore a little of that in the next chapter or maybe just move onto events after the episode. I'll try to keep to canon but even Young Justice sort of falls within its own universe so I might tweak some secondary characters and villains to make them click. Reviews are not only welcome, they are seen as an offering to the muses. Cheers_


	2. Target 2

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice'. If I did, Donna Troy would be making regular appearances and the show would obviously center around Artemis and Robin. I also don't own the rights to 'V for Vendetta' or 'Three Days of the Condor' just to be clear, as if that wasn't painfully so already. _

_A/N: Thanks to those that reviewed! This chapter begins at the end of the episode, 'Home Front'. _

"Way to get 'traught," Robin coughed, his signature cocky grin looking a little water-logged and his visor lenses fixed on her. Drops of moisture were still falling from his messy black locks and his cape was missing. He seemed very small at that moment.

Artemis hiccupped and wasted no time in grabbing the surprised boy wonder and crushing him against her in a hug that even Superboy would have been proud of. She felt Robin's arms tentatively encircle her frame so that they were both involved in the action but soon enough they heard a throat clearing and Kid Jealousy yelling, "Hey! I want a hug too! A little help here!"

Artemis reluctantly released Robin, holding him at arms length for just another second, reassuring herself that he was alive and well.

"I won't dissolve the moment you release me, you know," he pointed out, his tone light but his words soft and low.

"I know," she said at last. "It's just…you were amazing tonight, Robin. We'd all be dead right now if it weren't for you."

His hand went to her shoulder and he leaned toward her slightly with a small Robinish grin. "All in day's work."

They stared at each other then for just a fraction too long, their faces very close. Artemis noticed a tension in his jaws just as a frown fell over his face like a passing storm cloud and he said more seriously, "But you're the real hero of the hour, Artemis. When everything mattered, you came through." His gloved hand gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and Artemis gazed at him in wonder. Was he really younger than all of them? Sometimes he acted so beyond his years. Must be a bat thing.

Or maybe it was all just plain batty.

Artemis had felt betrayed and enraged at the news of Kaldur's omission and the mysterious turn of Red Tornado. Looking back at their mission to India, she knew she'd acted unfairly toward the Atlantian but she'd only been able to see red after hearing the news.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She'd also been thinking about her shared time with Robin in Mount Justice's ventilation system.

She had trained extensively with Green Arrow after Batman had convinced her to join the Young Justice team. The two archers had gone patrolling through Star City and more than once they'd had to work together to bring down a baddie. Before that, Artemis could remember her dad teaching her survival skills and the tricks of the trade with the bow and arrow. They'd gone hunting together, not exactly for animals of the traditional variety, but they had worked together, stalking the shadows with bows at the ready, side by side.

Partnering with Robin was nothing like working with Green Arrow or learning from her dad. Robin and she, without them even being aware of it at first, could read each other's moves. It might have been in part due to Robin's years of silently reading Batman and being able to deduce his partner's moves before they'd even thought them up. It could also have been due in part to Artemis's need for a partner, someone she could trust after the disturbing loss of her father and then Jade.

Whatever the case, by the time M'gann's bioship had landed in northern India, Robin and her had hit their stride, literally. Dropping to the ground within milliseconds of each other, Artemis felt exhilaration well up inside her like a rising balloon at the knowledge that without even communicating, she knew exactly where he was and exactly which sections of vegetation he already had cleared. They were a team and the comradery that gave her felt good.

The best part or perhaps the worst had been when they were under attack by the baboons and two of them had the drop on Robin. He'd been about the get hit just when she'd notched two arrows and released them simultaneously, nailing both targets in their control collars. Robin had glanced her way and she'd just been about to supply a quip, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, when he'd thrown two of his batarangs strait beyond her, saving her just moments after she'd done the same for him. They had shared a furtive smile then before delving back into the fray.

The bad guy, some weird brain thing that Kid Obvious had deduced was, in fact, a brain, had been defeated and M'gann had flown them back to Mount Justice safely in her bioship.

Robin and Kaldur were now finishing the last touches to the team's written report as Food's-Gone-in-a-Flash raided the kitchen for any last crumbs he might have missed in the first sprint through and M'gann and Conner snuggled together on the comfy chair in front of the plasma.

Artemis sighed at the sight, for they were annoyingly adorable, and went to the female locker room to change into her civvies. She tugged on the ancient pair of faded jeans she found stashed in the back of her locker, as well as a white tank and her familiar black jacket she kept pegged on the locker door. She was just lacing her tennis shoes when she heard a ruckus coming from the entrance.

Kid Flash was pleading with his mentor, the Flash, to stay a bit longer. "But we just survived two life-threatening missions and deserve a little party time to celebrate the fact that we're still…you know, breathing!" he whined.

But the Flash didn't seem to be having any of it. With a shake of his Hermes-ornamented head, he said firmly, "No can do, Kid. Your mom will give Iris a tongue lashing if I don't get you back home in a…" he allowed a small grin, "Well, in a flash. Believe you and me, we're all perfectly well aware of the fact that you've survived some pretty close calls lately. Mary won't let us forget. Now let's speed!"

"Umm… uncle Barry, I am actually pretty tired. You go ahead and run. I'll take the transport beam."

The Flash looked startled. "Wow, you really are beat. Alright Kid, see you home!" and he was gone.

Kid Grounded turned to the rest of them, noticing Artemis as she emerged from the locker rooms. He nodded at her and addressed all of them, heaving a sigh. "Okay, scratch tonight's plans but tomorrow. Here. Everyone brings something sugary. We're going to celebrate the weekend in proper style! I'm bringing nachos!"

M'gann looked perplexed. "What are…natoes?"

Kid Cheesy, after recovering from his initial shock, then felt honor bound to launch into a five-minute lecture about the varying states of nachos, their history, their popularity, and finally, their importance on the food pyramid. Just when Artemis feared he'd pull out a graph, Robin stepped up and said, "Dairy/wheat 'tegration later. Your mom's going to kill you."

Kid Flash looked at his watch and then his whole body seemed to vibrate for a second like he wasn't even there. "Dude! Thanks man. So nachos everyone! Tomorrow!" And he super sped into the portal.

After he'd left, Artemis shook her head in disbelief and flopped onto the couch. She began flipping though the channels on the giant plasma, ignoring the sucking sounds coming from the lovebirds. One of the premium channels was showing 'Three Day's of the Condor', one of Artemis's favorite movies. She turned up the volume enough to drown out the couple's make-out session and leaned back into the pillowy goodness of the huge couch.

Her mom didn't believe in paying for channels, she actually thought television was a waste of time. Artemis planned on enjoying the League amenities for as long as she could. It was a Friday night and her mom knew she'd be out late. Plus, she hadn't seen this movie since she was a little kid. She wondered if it would be as good this time around. A lot had changed.

Kaldur and Robin came in while the poor CIA analyst was off getting his lunch as his friends were being killed. Robin took a glance at the movie and plopped down beside her. "Conspiracy thriller- little 'turbing with our present mole, don'tcha think?"

"Actually, it seems to fit pretty well," she said a little more primly than she'd meant to. She scooted closer to Robin to make room for Kaldur. "Want to join us? It's a good film, happy endings as only celluloid can deliver and all that."

Kaldur regarded the screen for a moment, witnessing the hero as he came across the bloody sight of his fallen friends. "Uh… I shall pass," he apologized. "Enough violence for one day."

Artemis nodded, prepared to tell him goodnight, but before she could stop it she found herself saying, "I'm sorry for the way I behaved earlier. You were just trying to do what you thought was right. That's all any of us can do."

A flush of gratitude washed over Aqualad's normally serene features. "Thank you," he said at last, his guileless sea-green eyes seeming to bore a hole strait into her soul. "Have a restful evening."

As his quiet footsteps retreated, Artemis became increasingly uncomfortably aware of just how close she was sitting to the wonder bird. It probably had to do with the expansive stretch of couch off to her side. Disproportionate things tended to bother her, possibly because she was such a perfectionist.

Not that she considered that a bad trait. On the contrary, the skills that made her Young Justice caliber stemmed from her need for things to be precise.

Although Robin was engrossed, or seemingly engrossed in the movie- it was so hard to tell with his lenses- Artemis felt the need to break the silence or say something so she could move and it not be an awkward thing.

"You, umm…going to stay in your costume all night?"

Robin looked down at his costume, not too much the worse for their trip to the Asian subcontinent and their battle with rabid, collar-controlled wild animals. "The pants _are _starting to chafe a little…why? You want me in something else?" He gave her a little grin.

Artemis couldn't help it, she laughed. "Alright, sorry. It's just…" she glanced over at M'gann and Conner who were *still* engrossed in one another and then back to Robin's amused face. "You have to admit that it's a little- "

" -'Kward?" He finished for her.

She nodded.

"Right," He started suddenly, getting up and then offering her a hand, he easily pulled her up too. She noticed absently that he was only an inch or two shorter than herself. "You," he said, giving her a little shove toward the kitchen, "Are going to make popcorn- I keep a stash from KF in the sink cabinet, he never checks there, emphasis on the butter- and I, am going to go change into some civvies that smell a little less like baboon butt. Then we're going to rendezvous back here in five and watch the rest of this movie. If a certain couple is still at it, they might accidentally find themselves on the receiving end of some butterpops."

"You mean popcorn."

"No, I mean to dive-bomb it on top of them so the butter will explode. So butterpops works."

She laughed and happily started off for the kitchen. "You're a little diabolical," she called back over her shoulder.

Robin gave his creepy ninja laugh and disappeared.

She paused for a moment, a faint recollection teetering on the border of her memories. Too bad it escaped her like one of Dick's math jokes.

Artemis loved this movie, really she did. But she found herself contemplating the boy next to her or stealing glances at him more than she could actually say she was paying attention to the film.

Just like his mentor, the boy was a mystery and mysteries, by their very nature, required solving.

She didn't even know his name. It felt natural to call him Robin- he really did seem to fly through the air sometimes- but his real name could be anything. It could be Tom, Dick, or Harry for all she knew. Or maybe Jason. That name inspired a certain kind of flippant boyishness to it.

And his age. He was obviously the youngest member of their squad but just how much younger? One year? Three? It was difficult to gage with his erratic maturity levels.

Another thing were his thoughts. He wasn't overly chatty like Kid Gab and it didn't help that he could do that ninja voodoo stuff. Sometimes he would just vanish and she'd have to remind herself that he'd really been standing there next to them just a moment ago.

Also with the vexing impenetrable visors.

Even as he watched the movie, he wore a pair of black sunglasses, impossible to see through.

"Can you actually see the screen or are you asleep?" Artemis finally asked him.

He leveled his offending shades at her, his expression a blank slate. "These aren't your normal sun glasses."

"What, they have sonar?"

"Har har. No, let's just say I can see super'fectly fine in them."

"I think you did another disservice to the English language just then."

"I think it will get over it."

Artemis jutted her chin out and asked what had been pressing on her like a weight since the thought of heading back to Gotham to her mom had hit her, "Are you waiting to leave until I do?"

"I could ask you the same."

"P-O-S-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y. But mostly I'm just tired from nearly dying a few times in the last forty-eight hours and enjoying the couch. Your turn." She threw a 'butterpop' at his face that he proceeded to amazingly catch in his mouth.

"Mmmm…buttery. And nopppe," he said, popping the p. "In L-I-E-U - which is an awesome 'dition to our otherwise lacking language- of our perilous plights, Bats has given me a rare night off which I plan to enjoy. What you do in Gotham is your own business as long as you're aware that the Bat knows your every move."

"Comforting."

"He means well." Robin stretched and shoved Artemis away from him, carefully placing the nearly empty tub of popcorn on the floor.

"Hey!"

"Hey nothing. I need to stretch out." And to her astonishment, he laid his body sideways on the couch to enjoy the movie, his head boldly coming to rest on her lap.

"Umm…this isn't my idea of 'enjoying' the couch," Artemis huffed to the side of his ebony-haired head.

"T-O-U-G-H," he replied, an impish smirk just visible from her vantage point above him. "It's my night off."

'Mine too…' Artemis muttered to herself before giving in with a sigh and accepting that Robin was going to use her shamelessly as a pillow that night and that she didn't even mind. Much.

_A/N: Sorry, no more hints on Jon in this chapter. Perhaps the next. Please let me know what you think by way of review. Cheers_


	3. Target 3

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice'. _

_A/N: Thank you for your reviews! This begins in the midst of 'Revelation' and goes a bit AU. _

Artemis had to admit it. The way Kid Flash had stood up for her against Count Vertigo had been rather endearing. In fact, his whole demeanor toward her since their party last Saturday had been friendlier, almost- dare she think it- flirtatious.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that the whole team was now aware of M'gann's and Conner's relationship and Kid had to let go of his E.T. fantasies. Then again, that wasn't really being fair to him. He seemed to be attracted to M'gann in the same way she was to Superboy. It's not like she wanted to date the clone.

Still though, just because Conner and M'gann had decided to pair up didn't mean she was automatically supposed to hook up with a fellow leaguer. In fact, the last two weeks at Gotham Academy had assured Artemis that there were other guys out there. Guys that could formulate coherent sentences and discuss things besides football and their next night getting wasted who didn't even have to wear spandex on a daily basis.

"Duck Artie!" Kid shouted as he supersped body-slammed Poison Ivy off to her right. Artemis wasted no time in promptly taking his advice just as Black Adam hurled harmlessly through the air over her to splash into the swamp behind her.

Kid supersped next to her. "Thanks," She nodded as they both took a quick survey of the battle being waged all around them. M'gann was gracefully waging an aerial assault on Count Vertigo and Atomic Skull as Conner and Wolf viciously went after the Ultra-Humanite. Kaldur, locked inside Doctor Fate, was still holding off Wotan's overwhelming display of magic but seemed to be losing steam. Of Robin and the Joker there was no sight. Ivy seemed to be momentarily out of it from the speedster's assault but Black Adam was already back on his feet and charging the duo. "Think you can dance a bit with the big guy?" Artemis asked the redhead. "Miss Martian looks like she could use a hand."

"I can dance all night," he said with a wink before speeding off to divert Black Adam.

Artemis didn't waste time rolling her eyes, instead she sprinted toward M'gann, cursing for about the fiftieth time that night that she'd lost her bow and quiver. She really needed to invest in one of those magical weapons that would always return to her pocket in pint-size form when it was misplaced. But then she'd need pockets in her skin-tight pants…

She dove to her left as an errant ray from Doctor Fate and Wotan's battle flew her way and had to dive into a portion of the bayou when Atomic Skull sent a wave of his radiation at her. It was as she was climbing out of the swamp onto mushy land, preparing to distract the toxic freak again and vowing that her next mission would include absolutely no bodies of water to drown in that she finally spotted where the Joker had gotten off to.

He was wildly slicing and jabbing at Robin with a switchblade, slowly driving the boy wonder into one of Ivy's frantically flaying vine creations and laughing hysterically the entire time.

Artemis spared a glance back at M'gann, seeing that the Martian had skull-head and count-yabbers playing off each other, and without another thought quickly rushed toward the sociopathic clown.

Being a Gotham City native, Artemis was no stranger to the Joker's grotesque motley countenance and his psychotic yellow grin. His face appeared on television more often than the President's. However, she'd never actually confronted him and she definitely had never heard his ear-splitting, hair-raising cackle up close.

Aside from being distracting, it was literally an assault on the ears. However, Artemis used it to her advantage to sneak up behind the clown and deliver a stunning roundhouse kick, momentarily knocking the wind out of him and quieting the maniacal laughter. Robin took the advantage to launch into a butterfly, the Joker's switchblade flying into the swamp.

"Tag-team time!" Robin pronounced and they began the deadly dance with the world's most insane villain.

"Well! What's this bird boy?" Joker grinned, effortlessly parrying their blows, his impossibly wide grin never wavering. "Got yourself a girlfriend?" His bloodshot eyes gleefully regarded Artemis for a brief moment, making her feel even more naked than she already did without her weapons, before he masqueraded concern onto his madly made-up face. "Does daddy-batty know?"

Robin, ignoring him, blocked the uppercut aimed at his jaw and drove his knee into the Joker's stomach as Artemis caught a nasty cross to her cheek and momentarily saw a few stars.

The Joker grunted as Artemis reeled backward. Robin used the small opening to lay on a barrage of fists and steel-reinforced kicks, not allowing the Joker a second to regroup. The crazy clown didn't seem fazed however. He just kept up a steady stream of conversation as though he and Robin were old pals.

"You know wonder-blunder, this whole chauvinistic persona you're developing really isn't very attractive to the young ladies. They're all about feminism these…" he caught a nasty elbow to the cheek and then went on, his smile stretching impossibly, "…days." He twisted and weaved his body away from Robin's assault like a water-dancer, finally clearing a few feet of space between them. "If you really want to impress," he withdrew a metallic black sphere from somewhere within the myriad of folds in his patchwork purple jacket, "Give her flowers." With that, he pressed a button, activating the sphere and releasing the ugliest assortment of wanna-be lilies Artemis had ever seen. The glossy plastic sheen reflected off the surface of the white petals as they flew like pin missiles towards her. She had just enough time to think, 'Hmm…death by fake lily,' before Robin barreled into her, knocking her to the ground and taking one of the petals strait to his kevlar chest.

"ROBIN!" she cried, immediately crawling over to him. He was unconscious and there was a sizable whole in the front of his uniform, revealing a nasty gash on his chest over his sternum. A thin line of blood was trickling out the corner of his uncharacteristically frowning mouth.

"Now, now," the Joker chided, "On the other hand, it's very rude for a young lady to reject gifts that are given to her." Drawing another sphere, his eyes dancing with frenetic zeal, he cackled, "Let's try it again!"

Artemis sprung to her feet and dived to the side as he launched the first petal. He seemed to be using it more like a gun now, aiming the deadly projectiles one at a time as he made her dance before him like a marionette.

Artemis pivoted and crab-stepped, dove and rolled, jumped and flipped, and finally, her chest heaving and her heart pounding in her ears, tripped. She fell in a tangle a few yards from Robin, her face buried in the soft mud, the taste of swamp water and sweat on her tongue. Off in the distance, she could see Doctor Fate falling through the air and Kid Flash plummeting into a tree. The Joker advanced on her, shaking his head with theatric sorrow as though he were very disappointed. "I just don't see you kids working out," he said solemnly. "He's just too bird-brained and you're just too, well…" he pointed the sphere strait between her wide, gray eyes, his voice dropping dangerously, "…dead."

A flood of adrenalin pulsed through her veins as Artemis rolled to her side in time to avoid the petal. She applied a swift kip-up and executed a lightning-fast kick to the clown's groin area. The Joker doubled over with a moan. "That's not how you're supposed to play!" he cried in a pitiful wail, both his hands invariably clutching the afflicted site.

"Who's playing?" A rough growl echoed from behind the Joker, decking the clown when he turned. The Joker fell into an unconscious heap before the Caped Crusader, a comical look of 'aw…drat' on his motley face.

Artemis had never been happier to see the league leader. She ran to his side as he crouched next to his unmoving partner. "He knocked me out of the way and took a…err…petal thing to the chest," she said hurriedly as Batman assessed Robin and then gently gathered the boy up in his arms, making Robin look ridiculously small and very pale now that she could see him more clearly. Worriedly, she asked, "Is he going to be alright?"

Batman briefly spared a look in her direction. "He needs medical attention immediately. The rest of the league is here now as well. Inform them of my departure." And then his batjet was streaming overhead and a cable was winching the dynamic duo away, all in a matter of seconds.

Artemis blinked, suddenly confronted with the quiet echo of the swamp all around her. She strained her ears for sounds of explosions and screams that had pervaded the night air only a few moments before but there was only the stark sound of silence.

Using the mental-link that M'gann had established at the beginning of their mission, Artemis called, '_Joker down, need assistance. Batman had to take Robin. He's in pretty rough shape. What's the status for the rest of the team_?'

It took a moment before M'gann's voice echoed in her head, an unusual hollowness to it. '_The remaining foes have been defeated by the Justice League but Kaldur… we're not sure if he's going to make it out of the mask…_'she thought fretfully.

'_He never should have put it on_,' Kid lamented. Artemis could practically see the frustrated speedster nervously pacing in her mind's eye.

'_We wouldn't have made it if he hadn't_,' Superboy pointed out pragmatically.

"Artemis," a feminine voice interrupted, resonating from behind the archer and spooking her so badly that she hit a root and fell flat on her face- not her most graceful of moments. Powerful slender hands picked her up bodily, and deposited her lightly back on her feet.

Artemis found herself face to face with Wonder Woman, the actual Amazon Princess herself, who bore an expression of mild concern in the angular features of her regal face. "Are you alright child?" she asked gently.

Artemis, confronted with her idol, could only nod mutely.

Wonder Woman effortlessly hoisted the Joker over her shoulder and grabbed Artemis around the waist. "Batman just told me that you had taken on the Joker yourself," she said by way of explanation as they flew through the air above the bayou canopy. "You must be very brave."

"Or very stupid," Artemis muttered.

Wonder Woman, of course being a meta, heard her and smiled. But it wasn't an accusing or otherwise cruel smile, more of a sympathetic one. "Selflessly protecting your teammates is never 'stupid'. And I believe you have just earned Batman's grudging approval- no easy task in itself," she confided with a conspiratorial gleam in her sapphire eyes.

Artemis, even though she was talking to her heroine, could only scoff, "I'll take your word for it." She very much doubted the Dark Knight had been impressed with her. More likely, he blamed her for letting Robin get hurt and the sad thing was, she couldn't really disagree. She _had_ been the reason he'd gotten shot.

They touched down and Wonder Woman released Artemis, tossing the Joker to the ground in front of the other villains like a sack of overripe potatoes. Artemis quickly sought out her teammates and found Kaldur once again sporting his own face, the helm of fate secure in his hands. Kid Flash looked relieved enough to pass out and M'gann was in the process of giving the stoic Atlantean a fierce hug. Conner was looking on passively as he reassuringly stroked the mud-caked fur of a weary looking Wolf.

'_Almost complete_,' Artemis thought despondently.

Kid Flash looked up and rushed to her, almost bulling Artemis over in the process of giving her a tight squeeze. She froze for a moment, then relaxed and hugged the speedster back. He really could be very sweet sometimes, she relented.

They pulled apart and he must have sensed- or perhaps heard as they were still linked up via M'gann's telepathy- that she was distraught.

Just thinking the word almost made her tear up.

"How bad is Robin?" he asked immediately.

She bit her lip. "He… he's pretty bad. He took a shot intended for me strait to the chest. I'm not sure how much his suit was able to protect him." An image of the blood staining his pale chin assaulted her vision and a small sob escaped her lips.

The rest of the team gathered around her, hearing the news and offering their comfort. Kaldur placed a strong, comforting arm around her shoulders as M'gann sympathetically clutched her hand. Conner looked on the verge of an emotion and Wolf reared up to lick her cheek.

Green Arrow intruded upon their quiet moment, his eyes on his 'niece' as he told them, "Batman radioed in that Robin's been stabilized."

"Can we see him?" Artemis asked immediately.

Green Arrow frowned and Kid Flash shook his head sadly. "There's no way the bats is going to jeopardize their identity so we can visit. If he says Robin is stable, he is. We'll just have to wait it out."

The older archer nodded grimly at the assessment. "I'm afraid he's right Artie." The transport for the Injustice League arrived and Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel began escorting the prisoners onboard as Young Justice looked on.

Aquaman came up to them, his golden hair shining oddly in the dank red-glow of the swamp. He clasped Kaldur on the shoulder. "Your team performed admirably Aqualad."

Aqualad inclined his head, "We thank you, my King. But I fear that, had Fate not intervened, this would have been a very different scenario."

"Regardless," the Flash said as he supersped next to his protégé, "In the end, the bad lost and the good prevailed. I say you kids head back to Mount Justice and once you finish up your debrief, head back home for some well-earned rest. You've had three very demanding missions and hardly any break."

Green Arrow nodded. "We promise we'll get word to you as soon as we hear anything about Robin."

The team nodded glumly and M'gann's bioship picked them up. Artemis slowly ascended the ramp and looked back for one last view of the swamp. Black Canary caught her eye and called, "Sparring for tomorrow night is cancelled. Spread the word. My treat for a job well-done."

She meant it to lighten the mood but Artemis doubted that anything short of Robin bursting into the ship and laughing his crazy ninja laugh could have done that. Almost the entire trip back to Mount Justice was flown in silence.

Artemis looked on the long faces of Kid Flash and Kaldur, the former of which looking like his puppy had just died, and wondered idly if the team would be so bereft should something befall her. She didn't think so.

Although…

After the rough patch with M'gann when she'd hit on Conner, the Martian girl had taken to Artemis like a long-lost sister and although Artemis herself didn't necessarily feel that close to the alien yet, she could feel a growing fondness for the girl welling up inside her like a cake rising in M'gann's oven. The older girl had an unstoppable charm to her that forced you to like her. It was probably part of her Martian physiology or something.

And Kaldur seemed to always be watching over her. Like tonight, when they'd found themselves fighting duchess-vertigo and poisoness-face, he'd quickly and calmly known just how to reassure her and they'd had each other's backs. And when he'd sensed how upset she was just now, he'd been there to comfort her.

As for the Kid…

Being perfectly honest with herself, it seemed like he was growing on her and visa-versa.

And Conner- well, he probably didn't hate her but it was always hard to tell with him.

Since Kaldur and Robin had done the last report, Artemis volunteered to help the speedster with the newest one. They were sitting together at the counter, Artemis typing, and Kid Flash going over the events with the rest of the team very noticeably sans the boy wonder. M'gann, as usual, was baking some cookies- white chocolate macadamia nut this time- and Conner was, as usual, watching her bake with something akin to wonder in his stunning blue eyes- although Artemis reflected that she had in fact seen even more stunning blue eyes before, on her nerdy math partner in Pre-Cal but still, she'd give credit where credit was due.

"…and then Kent Nelson requested on my behalf for Fate to relinquish its hold over me. Artemis? Are you listening?" Kaldur shook her lightly.

Artemis felt her cheeks fluster. "Oh, right! Sorry… Go on."

"That was it. Wonder Woman showed up with the Joker and you. Then the rest of the villains were taken off by the Justice League," their leader finished.

"Something isn't adding up," the speedster murmured as he read the report from her laptop. Artemis acutely felt his presence as he leaned over her shoulder.

"What is it?" Conner asked, taking a cookie from the tray directly after M'gann had pulled it out of the oven. They looked on with amazement as he shoved the piping hot dough in his mouth and uttered a sigh of contentment. He tossed another smoking hot cookie to Wolf who jumped to catch it neatly and then promptly spit it out, whining furiously as he rushed to his water bowl, his long pink tongue scalded and his fluffy white tail tucked between his legs.

The Kid tore his eyes away from the cookies with longing regret that they were still so hot he'd lose his esophagus before being able to ingest them and said, "Yea, so…" he supersped to the desktop and pulled up one of their previous mission reports, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "Remember all the goings on we had with Cadmus?"

"Hard to forget," Conner muttered darkly.

"Well, I find it very difficult to believe that Poison Ivy, Black Adam, Count-Vertigo, Atomic-Skull, and the Ultra-Humanite could have been behind all that as well. Even Wotan. Not to mention that this is way too methodical for the Joker –"

"-The rampaging psycho-freak," Artemis supplied, seeing where he was going with this.

The speedster nodded. "When he works in conjunction with any of the other major big-bads his M.O. is always as distraction."

"So you believe that the Injustice League we helped defeat today was a front," Kaldur uttered pensively.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Artemis cautioned. "The Joker doesn't really play well with anyone. It's amazing enough that the bad guys could even work together long enough to formulate a plan. To say that they were just one aspect of some larger collaboration- and it would have to be a very elaborate, extremely withit collaboration- is stretching a bit."

The speedster didn't like that. "So you think this group we fought tonight has been responsible for all the other issues we've been facing?" Kid Flash asked, his green eyes narrowing.

"No, I wouldn't go that far," she placated. "It's just that we don't know enough right now. I definitely think you're onto something though."

He looked very pleased when she added that last part. "Well, let's include our suspicions in the debrief then."

"I agree," Aqualad affirmed. "Let the League make of it what they will; perhaps they will have additional insight."

Artemis added a few extra sentences to their report and when Kid…

She stopped before hitting 'submit'. "Kid Flash…"

He stopped, mid-chew, bits of white chocolate dribbling from his mouth.

"What's your actual name? I don't want to call you _Kid_ anymore."

He looked very surprised. "Uh…umm…" he stalled, finishing his cookie and another five in quick succession before finally coming to a decision. "I know your name… although who uses their real name for their super-hero name anyway?" She slapped him lightly on the arm. "Ow! Alright, alright. It's… Wally."

"_Wally_?" She didn't mean for it to come out like it was a dweeby name you'd bestow on your pet turtle but just hearing the name tumble from her mouth she knew it had. Before he could espouse some indignities however, she quickly added with an over-amped beam, "Great name!"

He glared at her.

When the laughter came she hid it behind her hand. "Sorry…" she sobered herself and made sure he knew she was serious before she went on. "It's just that this whole night I haven't once had the urge to make fun of you and it's kind of hard to keep it that way when I keep having to refer to you as 'Kid Flash.'"

He continued to glare, folding his arms over his chest.

"Okay…err, I'll just submit this report now."

The others had moved off toward the den by then and the two of them continued to sit in terse silence for a few more minutes as she uploaded the debrief. Finally, Wally said, "You haven't made fun of me the entire night?"

She nodded cautiously.

"Man, do I feel guilty now…" he said with a grin, springing up from the stool as she made to smack him in the head.

Artemis followed after him and belatedly felt her own remorse as she wished Robin was there in the kitchen with them, smirking his smirk as she and Wally chased each other.

_A/N: Okay, I had intended to go back to the Academy in this chapter but it was already getting a bit long so that'll have to be for next time. Please lend me (not your ears!) but your reviews. Cheers!_


	4. Target 4

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice'. _

_A/N: Thank you for your reviews! It was brought to my attention that Artemis knew Wally's name from an earlier episode. I looked back and sure enough, she hears him say, "The Wall-Man is here!" in the sixth episode, 'Infiltrator'. I apologize for the mistake. Please keep up the feedback, I need to be kept honest! In answer to the relationship questions some reviewers' had- Sorry. I'm unable to come right out and ship something; I've never been a great sailor. However, if you'd like to know whom I hope Artemis will eventually settle with, look no further than my other major character for this piece. Hope that helps! _

Artemis regarded the empty desk beside her with a small frown, heaving a sigh as she once again turned to the set of math equations she was supposed to be solving.

Her kindly math teacher had told her that her pre-cal partner, Richard Grayson, who she still had a hard time reconciling as _Bruce-freaking-Wayne_'s adopted son, was out sick for the week. In other words, Artemis was on her own with the terrifying logarithms.

It wasn't like she was completely helpless without the prodigal son by her side- reaffirming her answers, directing her to the proper formulas, making impossibly ridiculous math puns that made her laugh when she'd felt like crying only moments before, and otherwise being her own personal math tutor instead of her partner- which was what they were supposed to be.

But it was very clear, at least to her, that Dick was far more advanced in math than she and if the kid could get her caught up with the rest of the class faster than anyone else, than that was the way things were. She told herself that she wouldn't become reliant on his help but now that he was gone, she saw that she'd only been fooling herself.

On her third sigh, Mr. Rebmun- who most of the snickering kids referred to as, 'Red-man' behind his back due to how flushed the older man got whenever a student argued with him- stopped at her desk and bent down so they were eye to eye. He glanced over her latest problem and gave her a reassuring nod.

Artemis didn't care what the other kids said. She thought Mr. Rebmun was the best math teacher she'd ever had, aside from her thirteen-year old personal tutor that was. Mr. Rebmun leaned toward her and whispered, "I know it's slow going but you're doing a lot better."

"Thanks," she quickly muttered back, her unwillingness to accept praise of any kind rearing its ugly head.

He discreetly placed a stack of worksheets and handouts over the lessons they'd been doing that week on her desk. She raised an inquisitive brow. "These are for Mr. Grayson. Do you think you would be able to get these to him?"

Huh? "Hold up…"Artemis waved her hands defensively as though battling an angry bee instead of a stack of math problems. "I don't really see Dick outside of class and I definitely don't see him outside of school. Besides, don't they have a butler or servants or something they could send to pick up his work?"

Mr. Rebmun looked slightly perplexed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought with you being a Wayne Foundation Scholarship awardee that you'd be attending the banquet at the Wayne Mansion tonight. Your fellow teachers and myself were made aware by Mr. Wayne that he always tries to make himself available to his scholarship recipients and the banquet is his way of reaching out to let the students know that. I just assumed you could deliver Richard's missing work while you were there…" He started to gather up the papers. "But if you don't feel comfortable or hadn't planned on making the long trip out to Wayne Manor, I more than underst…"

"…I'll do it!" Artemis interrupted, quickly snatching back the papers. "It's just that no one told me about the err…banquet thing tonight."

Mr. Rebmun grinned. "I'm sure Richard will be very grateful. As am I."

He went off, his face beginning to glow its signature crimson as he reprimanded a weasel-y looking boy named Leo to stop flicking ink at the girl in front of him, the little scamp; they weren't even supposed to be using pens in math! The girl screeched like a banshee in horror when she saw the damage Leo had done to her once pristine blouse.

Artemis smirked at the girl's over the top theatrics and then reluctantly dragged her face back to the insufferable exponents that seemed set on torturing her for the remainder of their latest unit. Internally however, her thoughts were racing as to why she hadn't received word of the scholarship banquet. Equally pressing and related was the original mystery of how she'd received the distinguished award in the first place when she'd never even applied.

Whatever the answers, she'd bet her lucky composite bow on where to find them. She would need a lift to get to Wayne's mansion though…

As she was stowing her heavy pre-cal textbook in her locker and pulling out her rather dumpy yet equally back breaking copy of _Chemistry Today_, the very guy she was looking for leaned his long, narrow frame against the locker to her left, crossed his sinewy arms and gazed coldly down on the passing students as though they were ants to be squashed. One freshman accidentally caught his stare, squeaked in terror and ran strait into the passing AP.

"Wow…easy on the eyes!" Artemis lightly reproached as she slammed her locker and they headed off toward lunch together. As odd and standoffish as Jon could be, they'd formed a rather close bond of outsidership since their first impromptu meeting in the courtyard.

Jon gave an indifferent shrug, his lips twitching upward imperceptibly. "I know I am, but really _Artemis_," he pronounced her name like she was indeed the maiden goddess of the hunt and she secretly reveled in the sound of it, much to her dismay. "Gawking will get you nowhere."

"Ugh…" she groaned. "Do you have to be so rude to everyone?"

"It's part of my manic charm."

"Well it's scaring the middle-schoolers…not to mention a few of the high-schoolers."

"Only a few?"

They got in line to receive the latest inedible concoction the school tried to pawn off as 'food'. "What are you even doing here this early? I thought you didn't get back from G.U. until noon." The cafeteria woman deposited a wad of what looked to be feline vomit on her styrofoam tray and Artemis swallowed back her revulsion to flash the harried looking woman a smile and a polite 'thank you'.

Jon wrinkled his nose at the sight and instead grabbed a stale looking burger from under the heat lamp. "The professor let us out as soon as we submitted our midterms." Jon was taking duel-credit chemistry and psychology classes at Gotham University and had to make the drive there and back himself every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. His beat-up old Impala was racking up the miles.

"How'd it go?"

He grimaced contemptuously. "You have to ask?"

Artemis very maturely stuck her tongue out and plopped down under their usual tree. "We can't all be geniuses."

He joined her and watched her eat for a minute, his icy blue eyes making her shiver. "The distance between genius and insanity is measured only by success. Be careful, I might be a crazy person."

"I already assumed you were," she teased.

He gave her a chilling grin. "Best hope I'm successful then."

Artemis rolled her eyes and broached the topic she been meaning to with him. "So…umm…tonight…" she hesitated.

"Do go on," he pressed, smirking like a wicked psychologist.

Artemis mentally cursed as a blush crept to her cheeks but she doggedly continued, "I have to go to this event tonight at Wayne Manor and my mom doesn't exactly drive. Do…doyouthinkyoucouldtakeme?"

When he just continued smirking at her she thought he might not have understood the last bit on account of how rushed she'd spit it out but finally, taking his darn sweet time, he asked archly, "Like a date?"

She felt her blush deepen and avoided his eyes. "Umm…" Did she want it to be? Did she like the enigmatic senior like _that_ or did she just want to use him for his wheels?

Artemis wasn't sure.

Jon laughed, "Easy, Artemis. I'll take you- Bruce Wayne probably spends more on catering one of his 'events' than this school does on its annual cafeteria budget. I just wanted to watch you squirm a bit first."

She glared at him. "I don't _squirm_."

"Fidgeted with longing uncertainty then."

She flicked her vomit mush at him, striking him squarely in the forehead. A comical expression of horror came across his normally composed features. "How's that for uncertain?" she said with an evil grin as he frantically scrubbed his face.

_Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy_

"What does one man and his adopted son even need with so much house?" Jon whispered incredulously as they entered the stately mansion through the massive oak doors.

Artemis silently agreed as she took in the gothic elegance of Wayne Manor. It was just as beautiful and imposing on the inside, though the bright assortment of dresses, scattered conversations, and laughter did much to brighten the gloomy atmosphere of the grand foyer. A festive banner even hung from one wall, welcoming the scholarship recipients and a snack and punch table was laid out against one of the far walls below some rather costly looking oil paintings. Several other long tables were lined up in the center of the immense room with costly looking china and tablecloth decorating them but they hadn't served the dinner yet.

Since the guard at Wayne's gate had been forced to make a call to confirm her invitation, Artemis knew that someone had to be aware of her arrival. However, she was surprised when that someone manifested themselves in the shape of a regal looking butler with balding gray hair and mustache trimmed to perfection, a look of clockwork efficiency in his wizened face.

"Miss Crock, I presume?" he asked in a manner just as Artemis had always imagined a butler using.

She nodded and shot Jon a sideways glance as though to say, 'is this guy for real?'

"Splendid," the butler murmured, ignoring her look. "Master Wayne wanted to personally have a word with you. If I may take your coat and lead you to him?" He glanced at Jon and added, "I'm afraid your friend will have to wait for you here, however."

The richest man in all of Gotham City wanted to have a private word with Artemis Crock?

Riiight.

Artemis wished like crazy she'd strapped a knife to her ankle under her boots but she'd figured Wayne's security wouldn't be too keen on that so she'd made do with the knowledge that the black tights and delicate, viscose-pleated top she wore were stretchy enough to allow her to fight in close quarters should the need arise. Apologetically, Artemis turned to Jon, "I'll be right back," and then nodded to the butler, handing him her black jacket. "Lead on, err…" she'd almost called him Jeeves.

"Alfred," he supplied simply with a small grin. Artemis gave him a cautious smile back. For a stereotypical butler, this guy didn't seem half bad.

Alfred led her away from the light and sounds of the banquet down a long, dark corridor spotted with antique electric lanterns and a smattering of choice portraits. They seemed to mostly consist of Wayne family members and ancestors but one face she recognized as the 32nd President of the United States with one of his more famous quotes beneath his easy-smiling façade and an autograph dated 1939.

"Is this real?" Artemis blurted suddenly.

Alfred peered at the photo and leaned back. "Most certainly. Master Wayne's grandfather worked for him and I, in turn, had the great pleasure of later being hired by Master Wayne's grandfather."

"You've worked for the Wayne family your whole life?"

"Just about, young miss," the butler said fondly.

"You must enjoy it then…"

Alfred's eyes seemed to sparkle in the dim hallway. "Indeed. Now, this way if you please."

He led her to a half-open door, a glow of firelight and electrical light emanating from the doorway and ushered her inside, announcing to a dark-haired man seated at an impressively sized desk, "Master Wayne, Miss Artemis Crock here to see you."

The man promptly rose to his feet and gestured for her to have a seat at one of the plush red chairs before his cherry wood desk. Artemis sadly watched Alfred take his leave, regretting the absence of the kindly butler and slowly obliged, taking in the so called, 'Playboy Billionaire' as she did.

Bruce Wayne was probably nearing his forties but you wouldn't know it to look at him. Under his crisply tailored ebony suit, he appeared to have the physique of a twenty year old with powerful looking arms, a broad chest, and a narrow, flat waist. His thick, black-as-night hair was gelled in such dashing disarray that Artemis highly suspected the work of a professional. His face too, lacked the associated lines that came with age. It was a smooth, guileless masterpiece of chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, and a strait, aristocratic nose.

He was, unequivocally, the most handsome man she had ever seen. Even Conner couldn't compare, for he still looked like a pint-sized version of Superman, and Superman himself had nothing on Gotham's Prince.

He caught her eyes and embarrassed, she prayed to the Goddess of blushing maids that he hadn't caught her staring at his person. Not that the real Artemis would actually be on her side though. She had tended to hold distain for the whole men/women drama thing so in all likelihood, she'd probably just ensure Artemis's mortification out of spite.

"A pleasure to meet you, Artemis," he began, his forceful blue eyes strongly reminding her of his adopted son's. "When my security told me what happened, I realized there must have been some lapse on your invitation and for that I wanted to personally apologize."

"Oh…it was...it's okay, I umm…" _Get a grip_! she commanded herself. She cleared her throat and tried again, "Actually, Mr. Wayne, I did want to talk to you about my scholarship."

He leaned forward over the cherry-wood, steepling his fingers. "Oh?"

"Well, for starters, how did I receive it when I never applied?"

He gave a charming grin. "All the schools around Gotham are aware of my scholarship foundation. When a councilor finds a student they think fits the program they apply on behalf of that student."

So much for conspiracy theories, Artemis thought, berating herself for always being so paranoid. "Ah, well, umm…thank you for the opportunity then, Mr. Wayne."

"You're very welcome." He rose from his desk and she mimicked the action, hesitantly taking his pro-offered hand. His skin was warm and his grip firm as he shook her much smaller one and said warmly, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few matters to attend to before joining the party but please know that if you ever have any questions about your scholarship or need help with something, I'm always available."

Artemis arched a brow skeptically. "Always?"

He smiled ruefully and finally released her hand. "When I say _I_, it might be important to note that I delegate quite frequently. Occupational hazard. _My people_ would be a more apt terminology."

"Duly noted," she almost laughed, enjoying his disarming manner of speech. She prepared to go, but turned back to the billionaire and added, "Uh, one more thing, Mr. Wayne."

"Yes?" The flame flickered for a moment from its fireplace in the cut corner of Wayne's large study, casting a brief shadow over the man's breathtaking features. He looked imposing and more than a little frightening in that moment but it passed as quickly as it had come.

Artemis subconsciously took a step back and said quickly, "Dick…err, Richard, is in my math class and I have some missing work for him."

Wayne smiled, his teeth a brilliant white and perfectly even. "Are you?" It was implied that her name had never come up at the 'family' dinners. "He's been very ill the last few days and doesn't need to be disturbed right now, but if you'd give Alfred the work, he'll make sure he has it."

_Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy Aim and Accuracy_

When she got back to the banquet, the first dishes were being served and the other dozen or so awardees were sitting with their families at the long tables, ooing and awing over their appetizers- brochetta with peach salsa and brie and the pan-fried diver scallops served in a white wine cream sauce.

"The caviar will be coming soon," Jon muttered derisively, coming up beside her, his tall narrow frame presenting quite the picture in his faded black jeans. He wore his white Gotham Academy oxford unbuttoned at the top, untucked at the bottom and with the sleeves rolled up. "Then the lobster bisque, the sirloin steak, and the gold-flaked baked Alaska."

Artemis thumped his chest. "Oh stop it. It's fancy, I know. But it's not that excessive!"

A waiter in a tuxedo rushed past them with a silver tray of sparkling grape cider in crystal flute glasses.

He raised a brow. "You were saying?"

"Nevermind," she grumbled, trying to find them a seat.

"So what was Gotham's Prince like up close and personal?"

"He was…" _handsome, charming, a little deeper than she had expected_, "…Interesting," she finally settled with.

"You're going to have to use a few more of those "adjective" things Mrs. Ammoc swears we should know by now," Jon said, referring to the notoriously short tempered 12th grade AP English teacher.

A flash of auburn hair, going up the same stairs that Alfred had vanished off to once she'd given him Dick's missing work, caught the archer's eye. Watching the girl disappear and realizing she was the pretty friend she'd seen Dick with at lunch sometimes, she distractedly answered, "Umm…I don't know. I wasn't exactly able to conduct a thorough examination of the guy in two minutes." Making a quick decision, she told him, "Go sit over there, I'll be right back- have to find the bathroom…" and practically shoved the confused Jon toward a couple of empty seats by a caramel-colored girl in glasses and her frumpy looking parents.

Artemis quickly slunk off after the redhead, keeping to the shadows- of which Wayne Manor did not lack. She followed the girl up two flights and down a corridor, her footsteps feather-light and her breathing controlled. When the girl finally rounded a corner and cautiously entered one of the rooms, Artemis shrunk back against the wall and tip-toed to the frame, wondering what was possessing her and if Wayne had installed cameras in his hallways.

From inside the room, she heard the muffled sound of the girl's voice ask, "How you feeling?"

A voice that Artemis recognized as Dick's, albeit somewhat more toned down than she was normally accustomed to, replied, "Hey Babs, same as yesterday- like I got shot in the chest."

That didn't sound like someone suffering from an illness… In fact, the disassociated voice sounded vaguely familiar to Artemis. She'd heard that dry, sardonic tone before, and not in the hallowed halls of Gotham Academy.

"I see you got a hold of your math somehow. I asked Mr. Rebmun for it after school but he said he'd already given it to someone else to give to you. Here's the rest of your missing work."

There was a pause before Dick quietly asked, "Did he say who?"

Artemis leaned closer to the doorframe and carefully did a quick sweep of the room. Richard Grayson was sitting up in his bed, a mountain of pillows propping him up. He looked pale and drawn, his normally tidy and gelled black hair hanging limply. That too looked oddly familiar. There was an impressive bandage wrapped around his chest, visible beneath his open pajama top.

The girl, Babs, or whatever her name was, sat in a chair beside the bed with her back to the door. "Yea," she was saying, "it's that new girl you're obsessed with, Artemis Crock."

"_Obsessed with_? Really Barbara, I told you- we're in like, all of the same classes. It's in my own interest to be friends with her and she's a nice person. Once you get to know her, that is." Artemis bristled at his last statement.

"So you don't care at all that she entered tonight with _Jonathan_?" Barbara said his name like it was a disease-ridden snake and Artemis literally felt her heart rate excel in anger.

Dick's brow furrowed. "Even Bruce couldn't find any evidence of him with that lab incident last year. I still think you're just angry about his science fair project beating yours."

Artemis couldn't see Red's face, but she felt the blast of cool air as Barbara icily replied, "I know what I saw. He's dangerous."

Dick shrugged. "Not for the likes of you or I."

"What about your _partner_, Artemis?"

"She…" his voice hesitated. "She can take care of herself."

"What aren't you telling me, Dick?"

Dick snickered, the familiarity of it hitting Artemis like an arrow through the heart. "What Babs? Don't tell me you're jealous?"

Barbara was losing her patience. "You know very well that I'm not! I just don't understand why you're always watching her and I'm sick of all the secrets you're keeping from me!" Her voice quavered as she stood, clutching her book bag to her tiny frame. "You could trust me with them."

Dick looked away. "You know it's not that simple."

Barbara waited a moment longer, just staring at him but he refused to look at her so she turned on her heel and headed for the door. Artemis quickly assessed her options and, deciding that the beams above her were too far out of reach to spring into, she backpedaled as far as she could and pretended as though she were just coming up to Dick's door.

Barbara started when she saw her but a scowl quickly formed, marring her otherwise pretty, freckled face. "Oh, it's _you_. Dick already has his math work."

Artemis resisted the urge to snap at the girl, instead putting on a forced smile. "I just wanted to see him and wish him well."

Barbara looked like she wanted to argue but bit it down and, heaving a sigh, said, "Be my guest. He's all yours."

His ass was sure about to be. "Thanks so much…" she told the younger girl sweetly before ducking into the room.

_A/N: Until next time, please R&R! _


	5. Target 5

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice'. _

_A/N: Thank you for reviewing! I wasn't sure how this turned out. I'll let you guys be the judges. Anyone figured out Rebmun's name or Jon's identity? Also, I'm afraid I'll be away Friday through Monday so it might be a bit longer than normal till the next update which is why I'm releasing this shorter chapter now. _

Dick's walls were covered in posters. There was hardly a sliver of plaster to be seen they were so numerous. There were posters of bands- mostly rock but she noticed a pop tucked away by his closet doors- a few posters that actually had, Artemis cringed, math quotes by Einstein, and then there was the poster of an acrobatics group called 'The Flying Graysons' that hung as a centerpiece above his large bed.

Depicted within the poster, three raven-haired acrobats were suspended in photographic eternity at the apex of their death-defying twirl, high above a crowd of marveling spectators in a canopied red tent. One was a woman, lithe and elegant. One a man, slender and handsome and the last…

…it was Robin.

Only he was younger, and the smile on his face, like that of the woman's and the man's, was real. The only other difference was that his signature domino mask was nowhere in sight. Instead, she could clearly see the eyes of Richard Grayson mockingly laughing at her.

Dick saw her enter and went from sickly pale to green at the gills faster than Wally could eat a tub of rocky road, his bluer than blue eyes widening in shock. He quickly regained his composure, a politely perplexed mask of indifference hiding away his features far better than any mask ever could.

"Hey _Dick_," she said in a tone of honeyed poison.

He winced slightly and sat up a little straighter, only to wince again, this time out of pain. "Artemis? What are you doing here?"

"The scholarship banquet, silly," she said as though he were as old as he looked in the poster above him.

"No, I mean what are you doing up here, in my room?" Oh, the boy wonder was squirming now, Artemis could tell. He looked nervous beneath the act, his black hair standing out in stark contrast to his milky-white complexion.

She smiled, knowing that he'd catch the way it didn't quite reach her cold, gray eyes. "What? A girl isn't allowed to check up on her _sick_ friends?"

He stared at her for a moment, his entire countenance as still as a statue like he'd sometimes do when Robin. Finally, he ducked his head in a supreme show of contriteness and whispered in a pathetic, little boy voice, "I didn't know you cared…"

_Oh please!_ Artemis thought with a snort but quickly turned it into a sniff. "_Of course_ I care," she affirmed passionately, almost laying it on too thick. "Without you, how would I ever get through pre-cal?"

They gave each other small, awkward smiles, neither of which were genuine. Artemis flicked a concerned gaze at the bandages wrapped around his narrow yet very well defined chest. The pajama top and the wrap couldn't hide the fact that Dick's body was in superb shape- far from what you'd expect of a mathlete. "Mr. Rebmun said you were ill. I didn't know you'd been injured as well," she innocently explained before inquiring, "Comment vous sentez-vous?"

He tugged at his shirt in a great show of self-consciousness that Artemis found slightly ridiculous as she'd seen Robin go swimming in the ocean with Aqualad on the beach beside Mount Justice before, wearing nothing but some black trunks and his sunglasses. "I was really sick the first day this bug hit me…" he began slowly, carefully. "I went to get something from the kitchen, down on the first floor, and got really dizzy at the top of the stairs. I woke up in the hospital with stitches in my chest where I'd fallen into the balustrade." He gave a weak smile. "So I feel pretty stupid but otherwise the doctors say I should be able to go back to school next week."

Artemis narrowed her eyes at his lie but otherwise made no gesture to acknowledge it. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and exclaimed sarcastically, "_Of course_. There's no way _you'd_ be able to resist a test over logarithms."

He grinned, this time with more sincerity. "Did you know that Lumberjacks make excellent musicians because of their natural _logarithms_?"

Artemis couldn't help the genuine laugh that bubbled forth. That joke was just too much like Dick. "That doesn't sound like easy-listening…"

"Apparently it's not, because I heard their band didn't _cut_ it," he said, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "They got the _ax_ after their first album."

Artemis giggled, _actually giggled_, at Dick's horrible pun making and then with an exaggerated groan lightly punched his shoulder. "No more math jokes from you, Grayson. You're probably supposed to be resting right now or having your personal masseuse give you a massage and a virgin mimosa or something."

It was Dick's turn to stick his tongue out. "We currently have a vacancy in the department of personal masseuses. If you really want to volunteer, I'll need to see some credentials…" he smiled impishly, forcefully reminding her of her Young Justice colleague, "And I'll need a demonstration of your skills."

Artemis arched an eyebrow, not sure if she was supposed to be conversing with Dick or with Robin. "You couldn't handle them," she demurred.

"Let me be the judge of that," he said, suddenly serious and Artemis got the impression that he wasn't flirting so much as trying to assure her that even if she knew his secret- which he wasn't confirming or denying- that she should let him decide when to reveal himself.

That or the thirteen going on fourteen year old was experiencing a hormonal fit…not out of the realm of possibilities. But still, this was Robin. He never did anything without a reason.

He probably had his hormones hard-wired to a computer or something.

Artemis nodded, deciding to let him make of that what he would, and exclaimed, "Hurry up and get better! Mrs. Sirap keeps partnering me with Edward and I'm getting sick of his projecting 'p' pronunciations."

"Man, I can't believe she'd do that to you," he commiserated. "I'll get better as fast as I can, for your sake, naturally."

"Much appreciated."

She was halfway out the door when he called, "Oh, and Artemis…"

She turned around and was again struck by how pale he was, how weak. But the vulnerability also lent an endearing quality to the boy she already found as such. She felt the sudden urge to run back to his bed, jump up next to him and just hold him- to let him know how much she appreciated his sacrifice for her, how much she respected his brilliance as Robin and as Dick, how much she was coming to rely on him for guidance and for support, and most of all, how the thought of him dying had scared her.

But he wasn't ready for her to know he was Robin, perhaps of his own volition or more likely that of Batman's. Either way, it was only Dick, her trusty little French and pre-cal partner she was supposed to be looking at in that instant. The game she started the moment she refused to acknowledge her discovery was a prison she'd built for herself, and him for that matter.

But when he said sincerely, "_Thank you_," it was so much more than that.


	6. Target 6

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice'. _

_A/N: Thanks to those that reviewed my short chapter as well as the others! You guys are awesome! Now, as for 'Humanity'….suffice to say I was __**not**__ happy with that episode. Thank goodness there is fanfiction. _

"Artemis!" M'gann called joyfully immediately upon the archer's zeta tube arrival to the Mountain.

Artemis cringed slightly at how peppy her teammate sounded and mumbled something that might have been mistaken for the Martian as 'hey' because she happily proceeded to nod and wander off towards the training room. Artemis heaved a sigh and wearily followed her, her gait slightly off as her knee was killing her from their weeklong training tortures…err, sessions with Black Canary.

To make matters worse, Artemis had seen Robin at school earlier that day. It had been his first day back in over a week and he had dug into their math test with gusto. He'd also done a very artful job of distancing himself from her, even going so far in French as to claim he was falling behind and needed a less experienced partner.

_Mauviette. _

But whatever, that was fine. Richard Grayson didn't have to be her friend. However- and it was a big however- Robin DID have to be there for Artemis. Their lives sometimes depended on supporting one another and she had thought that their relationship had progressed to the point where they were at least able to be there for each other.

If he was cold today toward her as Robin, then they had a serious problem professionally. Personally…Artemis was already feeling a bit hurt.

Dick had, against her will, wormed his way into her affections. Even though with his age, he was considered the social pariah of the class (Edward and his promiscuous 'p's not withstanding), she had grown to regard Richard Grayson as one of the rare bright spots in her otherwise monotonous rounds at Gotham Academy.

If she wasn't outwardly angry at him for withholding his secret, why would he suddenly turn his back on her? Was Batman- or rather Bruce Wayne- forcing him to? Did they think she would endanger their identities? Surely after everything Batman had done prior to introducing her to the team, he trusted her?

The alternative was that the caped crusader had nothing to do with Dick's new attitude. This would mean that Robin himself didn't trust her.

Her throat constricted as she saw him stretching on the sparring mat, and pinpricks of moisture assaulted her eyes when he ignored her entrance. She angrily swiped them away and summoned her resolve, moving over next to M'gann and doing her best to act like nothing was wrong.

Conner had just finished his session with Black Canary and was now sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, a blank expression on his chiseled face. Artemis couldn't tell if he had won or lost his round with their 'den mother'. It wasn't like he bruised, or even sweated for that matter.

Wally was lounging off to the side, apparently having enjoyed the spectacle and being ridiculously waited on hand and foot by Captain Marvel. Even though he had only sprained his wrist, he was acting like a prima donna and taking complete advantage of the older superhero's misplaced generosity. She really needed to knock some sense into that boy…

Canary finished tinkering with a few buttons on the control panel for the pressure-sensitive sparring mat and then turned to Robin, Aqualad, M'gann, and Artemis. "Welcome back, Robin. We've been doing hand to hand this week, no powers, so it should be a good review day for you. I want Aqualad and Miss Martian working on the Aikido moves I showed you yesterday and Artemis, I want you to practice some of the Taekwondo we were working on with Robin."

All four of them nodded and got into their positions. Artemis took in Robin's pallor and was relieved to see him less pale than when she'd seen him in his room. Behind his domino mask and neutral features however, it was impossible to gage what he was thinking.

"Begin!" Canary shouted.

Both Robin and Artemis immediately seized the ready stance, eyeing each other critically. Artemis had about a half second to decide if Robin would be at peak form due to his injury before he launched into a flawless hook kick, his heel flying sideways at her face, his lightning fast speed answering her question for her.

Artemis flung herself away but wasn't fast enough, his heel grazing her chin and wrenching her head back painfully, her neck severely whiplashed. Neck muscles in ribbons and her lower face numb, she rubbed her jaw and glared.

"You should have ducked instead of retreating," he explained clinically. "That way I wouldn't have the room to do this…"

And then he was flying at her again, this time throwing a jab to her face which she quickly blocked only to realize belatedly that it was a fake so he could throw her to the ground with a scissor kick to knock her legs out from beneath her.

She went down hard on her shoulder, her limbs tangled. Robin quickly rolled and performed a kip-up so he was standing over her, a small smirk pulling at his lips.

_That was the last straw_. Feigning breathlessness, Artemis stayed still for a fraction longer than was warranted. When Robin took his first uncertain step forward, she swiftly hooked her ankle behind his knee and yanked his legs out as he had done to her. He unceremoniously toppled over but she had miscalculated the trajectory and he landed right on top of her, their bodies crashing together like boulders so that this time, she really did have the wind knocked from her lungs.

Robin's face was lying sideways, flush against her shoulder as she felt him pant. He had one arm braced beside her, having somewhat broken his fall. She could feel his sweat-streaked hair tickling the delicate area between her neck and jaw and his other arm trapped between them, the durable gauntlet over his hand pushed against her exposed torso.

He gave a painful groan and slowly dragged his face up so that it was even with hers and for a brief moment, she thought she could detect a twitch of uncertainty behind his oblique visors. Her breath hitched, her chest feeling especially compressed and her lips parted, an odd, altogether different sort of breathlessness settling in the pit of her stomach.

He licked his lips unconsciously and she found her eyes drifting toward them like a moth to flame, unable to tear her gaze away.

His fingers tensed and stretched reflexively over her stomach in an involuntary motion, the tips digging delightfully into her tingling skin as though an anchor, holding them together. Artemis saw him freeze then, the hesitation written over his face like so many words.

Before he could decide what to do next, she brazenly decided for him, lightly tracing her open-gloved fingertips down the expanse of his taunt ribcage, his pulse thumping more like a hummingbird's than a robin's beneath the thin fabric of his uniform, and finally pushed her own hand forcefully between their bodies so she could lay her palm over his hand.

Which she proceeded to grip as tightly as possible and pin roughly behind him as she rolled them over so that she was now straddling his waist, his other arm trapped beneath the weight of her knee. It was an awkward and painful position, one that she felt sure he wouldn't be getting out of anytime soon.

It was her turn to smirk triumphantly as his visored eyes widened in surprise.

"It's okay, _Robin_," she patronized, wickedly enunciating his codename, "I wouldn't expect you to be able to handle my skills."

To her disbelief, and to the credit of his abdominal strength, he contorted his body and delivered a stunning headbash to her face, knocking her backward and freeing himself. He quickly jumped to his feet, his signature ninja cackle spilling forth. "Verdict? – 'Whelming at best. I think you'll need to try a little harder next time."

The stars clearing from her blurry vision, she smoldered in rage and threw herself at him with a nearly feral growl.

They danced for a time, their bodies effortlessly wheeling and spinning, dodging and attacking, sometimes even flying. They danced the dance so well that Black Canary gave up refereeing M'gann and Aqualad to just watch them, her practiced eyes glittering as she approvingly followed their movements.

It wasn't until the zeta tube sounded behind her and distracted Robin that Artemis finally caught a break and was able to flip him onto the mat and score a decisive victory.

By this time they'd been sparring for the better half of an hour and were both sweating profusely. They also hadn't said another word since Black Canary had moved over to their side of the enormous mat. -Which was probably just as well since his enigmatic face was driving her crazy and all she wanted to do was lay a good clean punch to it. Too bad he really was the boy wonder and moved like a wraith.

Throwing a scowl in her direction, he lithely rocked back onto his feet and quickly swept past her toward the newly arrived Zatara. The team watched, perplexed, as the magician wordlessly punched his access code into the zeta control panel and the figure of a fourteen-year-old girl that could only be his daughter beamed forward from the tube, the robotic voice announcing her as Zatanna.

She was very pretty and physically, she strongly reminded Artemis of Robin with his vivid blue eyes, gypsy complexion, and onyx hair.

As typical, M'gann smiled and rushed forward to welcome the newcomer but before she could, Robin jumped in front of her and gushed, "Hey! I'm Robin! This is M'gann, Wally, …Artemis, Kaldur, and Conner." He was spazzing like an archer who'd hit their first bull's-eye, or like a thirteen-year old punk seeing a pretty girl for the first time…

Artemis crossed her arms, her eyes unconsciously narrowing as Kaldur sincerely welcomed her to the cave.

"So…err…a-are you joining the team?" Robin stuttered in a sickening display. This was _so_ not like him… was the little vixen bewitching him or something?

Zatara quickly stepped in and informed everyone that this was strictly a visit. A frown marred M'gann's sweet face and she telepathically voiced her concern that they weren't being trusted by the League and everyone agreed, Artemis not adding the fact that her own teammate wasn't trusting her either.

Once they had ditched the adults, with the ruse of giving sassy Wicca girl a tour of the cave, Artemis sidled up next to Dick and was about to try to deduce if he was really under some sort of spell when the princess herself showed up out of thin air on his other side, announcing with her brilliant deductive skills that she didn't believe they were actually going to be going on a tour.

The girl was a freaking genius.

To her horror, Conner and Kaldur let her in on their plan to hunt the Reds. _Was everyone being brainwashed by this pixy!_

Finally voicing her concerns, Artemis skeptically asked, "What about _new girl_?" doing her best to remind the team that they didn't know anything about Zatanna other than that she was pretty and the daughter of a powerful magician. Though to be fair, they didn't even know that. Artemis was theoretically the niece of Green Arrow. Zatanna could be Talia al Ghul's sister for all they knew!

Robin turned to her, slightly smirking and Artemis was left with the firm impression that he was somehow playing someone in all this before he laughed off her worry and said, "I'm sure she won't tell."

Zatanna's hooded eyes sunk into Robin like a cat into a goldfish bowl. "I can't tell. Not if you _kidnap_ me," she murmured pointedly.

Artemis, not liking any of this one bit, stuck her hands on her hips and sighed, "Oh yea, she's going to fit in grrreat."

_A/N: Please Review. That episode was like a cannonball to my ship. _


	7. Target 7

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice'. Some of the dialogue in this chapter comes directly from the episode 'Humanity.' I also unfortunately don't own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Jon Snow, nor copious amounts of time. _

_Quick Q&A: Do Wally and Artemis have a love/hate relationship on the show? –Yes. Are they a couple? –No. Is Robin a year and a half to two years younger than Artemis on the show and in this fanfic? –Yes. Do I think that matters? –Not really. Are Robin and Artemis likely to have a romantic liaison on the show? –Not really. Do they have the potential to have a very interesting, very complicated, possibly romantic, possibly just good friends relationship? –Yes. Do I think that should be explored? –Obviously. Do I do that in the best way possible? –I do it in the best way I know how._

_A/N: I love the words of praise and encouragement you guys have bestowed. I apologize for not responding this last time to your individual reviews. This chapter finishes up the last episode and hopefully we'll be moving along more with Jon's storyline in chapter eight. Please keep 'em coming and I'll try to keep up better this next week! Cheers!_

* * *

><p>After Zatanna's powerful and slightly spooky display of magic, the bioship was quiet on their route to the island as it zoomed over the choppy ocean at mach two.<p>

"Look," Robin told Zatanna with an uneasy laugh, "I'm trying to be all nonchalant here…"

"Why?" Zatanna asked, swiveling her chair beside Artemis to face the boy wonder and giving him a wink, "Be as 'chalant as you like."

Artemis paused in the fletching work on her new composite net-missile arrow.

_Wicca girl was now using Robin's lingo?_ Who even did that besides him? This girl was becoming more and more of a mystery…

First she insisted on coming with them, then she laid that creepy jedi-mind-trick-voodoo spell over Ivo, compelling him to tell the truth better than if they'd hog-tied him with Wonder Woman's lasso, and now she was suddenly using the specific speech patterns of their resident ninja? Some answers were way past in order.

Putting the arrow carefully back in her quiver, she turned her chair to Zatanna's and said as diplomatically as she could manage, "I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers. For instance, could you teleport us to Tornado or Morrow to a cell or force his bots to surrender?"

"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Zatanna scoffed sarcastically. Waving off the affronted look Artemis was regaling her with, she went on, "Zatara couldn't even do all that and I'm nowhere near on my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold or else have time to prep it. Plus all magic requires energy which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will."

_Hasn't seemed to stop you yet, _Artemis thought sourly. "Well how many spells do you feel competent enough to use _at will_?" she asked, a little surlier than she had meant to.

Wally looked up from his daydreaming in alarm, his bright green eyes asking her what the heck she was on about. Kaldur shot her a disapproving look, and M'gann's was reproachful. Robin, however, just cocked his head to the side and regarded her curiously. Conner was becoming restless and ignoring them all.

Zatanna was smirking. "Enough," she answered coyly.

Artemis bit back a retort and nodded, sinking into her seat and turning her attention resolutely back to her quiver and fletching. Oliver always insisted that the best archers feathered their own arrows. "Hope so…" she finally managed to spit out before lapsing into silence and being forced to listen as Robin and Flirtanna discussed her training, her favorite rock band, her proclivity for Houdinisms, and her worst subject at school…math, naturally.

"Oh, you should totally bring some of your homework by the mountain sometime," Robin was urging her with a winning grin, "I could help you with it."

Artemis leaned forward, narrowing her gaze at Robin and purposefully bypassing Zatanna. A twisted grin forming on her lips, she insolently asked, "Oh, in that case, _Robin, _maybe you could help me too. See, I used to have this friend that helped me on my math but he's been a bit absent lately."

The eyes behind the domino mask seemed to widen and he coughed, Zatanna looking from one of them to the other in confusion. He frowned and finally said slowly, looking directly at her, "Sure, Artemis. I'm full of the help. And I'm sorry your friend hasn't been there."

He said it so sincerely that Artemis lowered her gaze and nodded, feeling somewhat mollified. "I am too…"

They arrived on the island in stealth mode, the bioship using hover capability to touch down light as a feather. Aqualad wasted no time in giving them their marching orders.

"Stealth mode," he commanded, punching his own uniform to black as Wally, M'gann, and Artemis did the same. "I recommend you stay behind," he added more gently, turning to Zatanna.

She jauntily eyed their leader, her eyes challenging. "Is that an order?"

"No," he affirmed, shaking his head and resigning himself a bit to the obvious strong-will of the girl before him. "You must do as you see fit."

"Good. _Emit oder tiftuo eht, wen kool_!" She cried and her outfit transformed into a theatrical magician's complete with white bowtie in a swirling cloud of purple mist. She placed a hand on her hip and smirked.

Everyone, even Artemis found themselves a little impressed. Robin had a tiny amount of drool as he took in the curves of her costume, which weren't as impressive in the archer's humble opinion. The girl was basically a stick.

After Miss Martian had established their psychic link, they headed at a reasonable run through a moderately dense outcropping of trees. Artemis reveled in the run, her bow and quiver slung securely across her back, her legs feeling powerful and her heart humming at a steady, well-conditioned tempo.

Superboy reached the end of the woods first and bent low, signaling them to stop. Zatanna, the shortest of them all and probably the least conditioned physically was the last to reach them as Robin pulled up his virtual computer screen. "Ivo was right. Something's down there…"

They cautiously descended the knoll into a dusty clearing of sorts, each of them keeping their eyes peeled for the slightest of movements when suddenly the dust was convalescing into twisters all around them.

Artemis could barely see and was having a difficult time breathing with all the debris and wind. The added affect of the terrible churning, grinding howl the tornados generated was also doing much to rattle her- she'd always been a bit afraid of them.

Even if she was a storm chaser, there had to have been at least two-dozen, localized F-3 funnels around her person alone and she had no idea where or in what shape her team was.

She was vaguely aware that Red Tornado was the cause of this, but she was so shaken that the only thing she could focus on was not being swept away.

Then out of nowhere, Robin ran up beside her. His cloak flying all around him and his hair as opposite that of Dick's natural coif as possible, he somehow managed to exude a presence of calm and certainty, just as he had in the ventilation system when they'd first been attacked by the Reds. His voice yelled over the howling, "Do you have armor-piercing explosive arrows in there?"

Artemis seized on his confidence and called back, "What kind of Green Arrow sidekick would I be if I didn't!" before she withdrew the two arrows from her quiver and only taking a second to aim where Red Tornado's silhouette appeared between the gray funnels, skillfully drew her bow and launched them.

She had just enough time to revel in her amazingly good aim when Tornado channeled his winds to rebound the arrows directly back at her.

Robin yelled something unintelligible to her ringing ears before he made a flying leap and shoved her to the ground. He held her close to his chest with one arm, the other pulling his cloak over them protectively as the explosives detonated with an impressive thunder and shower of lethal heat.

'_Stay down_,' Miss Martian's voice sounded inside their heads. '_Red Arrow has left a hidden message to play dead_.'

Robin, not having to fake his pain very much, released Artemis and rolled onto his side in the swirling dust. Artemis did the same so that they were facing each other, both still as corpses as the cyclones whirled and hissed around them, Artemis's long blonde hair reacting as though it had a life of its own.

She cracked one of her eyes open and saw his visors fixed in her general direction. 'Thanks' she mouthed. He nodded.

Just as the winds were beginning to calm down, a bigger, badder red robot flew in and called out Red Torando's ploy, throwing the slab of rock that read, 'Play Dead' at the team. Aqualad and Miss Martian intercepted most of it, shielding the largest pieces from them but a few of the smaller pieces got through and Zatanna screamed.

Robin mentally called, '_Zatanna!_?' and, leaving Artemis, rushed to the magician's side.

In her head, she heard Zatanna nobly reassure, '_I'm good, but Red Tornado's getting away_!'

Artemis jumped to her feet and took off after the Reds. '_Is he abandoning us_?' she wondered aloud to the team, more than a little bewildered by Tornado's actions.

'_I don't believe that_!' M'gann thought as she flew overhead.

Red Volcano, as he styled himself, easily swiped Wally away, crushed M'gann and Superboy, and then opened a chasm beneath Aqualad and Artemis. Not wasting a second, she shot a grappling arrow to the ledge, caught Kaldur by the arm, and neatly swung them up and over the rim just as the rock her hook had buried itself into crumbled along with the ground around them. She tugged a dazed Aqualad to his feet and pulled him to more secure footing as Robin sprinted past them in a red and black blur, launching a powerful explosive batarang at the behemoth robot.

Volcano flicked it away without even looking as though it were a pestering gnat and turned his fiery gaze on Robin. "Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move."

He made to launch a stream of his magma-pulse at the boy wonder and Artemis rushed forward even as Kaldur was trying to pull her back, only to hear Zatanna's distant voice cry out, "_Emoc dna tsaef flesruoy no emulov sdil_!"

Immediately, vine-like bindings wound around Red Volcano's metallic head, effectively neutralizing his sight. "Tornado never knew my moves!" she called haughtily.

Artemis breathed a sigh of relief as the team quickly regrouped around Zatanna.

Robin clapped their new teammate on the shoulder, grinning. "And I've bet you've got some good ones!"

Zatanna raised a brow and looked at him inquiringly.

He raised his hands and gave an apologetic laugh. "Oops, sorry. That might have come off a little too Wally,"

She smirked and dropped her voice to a whisper that Artemis couldn't help but catch, "I don't mind."

It was at that moment that Volcano freed himself of the vines and channeled his powers, causing the real volcano behind them to erupt in a dramatic spray of lava.

Artemis began launching arrow after arrow at the robot as the others too gave him everything they had, Wally even giving a bit more as Zatanna used a spell to multiply him- dozens of Wally's running around, a truly terrifying sight!- but it all seemed to crumble as the Volcano continued its rumbling eruption and the hulking bag of bolts caught M'gann around the neck and strangled the life out of her, knocking a frantic Superboy away effortlessly. One of the Wallys managed to speed her out of his clutches but the momentary distraction made it possible for Volcano to pummel away the rest of his clones in one assault.

Artemis rushed to his side and helped ease the Martian to the ground. She looked up at him and thought, '_Just in case we die…_'

'_Doctor Fate said I need to find a spitfire!_' Wally interrupted in a tangled heap of random gibberish as their eyes locked over M'gann's motionless form, cradled in Artemis's lap. The speedster had soot covering his cheeks and his goggles were cracked. His hair was badly singed and he had a nasty looking gash running across one of his thighs.

Artemis thought he might have a concussion as well. '_Umm, anyway… I wanted you to know that for a food-inhaling, womanizing, science-whiz speedster, you're not half bad_.'

Wally slapped a hand to his face and tugged his hair back in a frustrated manner. He sighed and said aloud, "_Gee…_thaanks."

Artemis failed to respond as she witnessed Volcano preparing to engulf Aqualad in his blazes just as a torrent of water came to the Atlantean's aid. Looking around in confusion for the source, to her amazement she found the very two robots that had almost killed her a few weeks ago now giving it all they had to save her team.

With the added assistance of Red Tornado, they held Volcano under the lava and melted away. Just as Tornado seemed to resign himself to their fate, his lower body melting away into the lava current, Conner jumped to a nearby ledge and leaped over the hero, wrenching Tornado out of the fiery prison and onto relatively safe ground.

With a groan, M'gann opened her eyes and Artemis gave her a quick hug before helping her to her unsteady feet. Wally stood, taking in the eruption before his kind-of-cute, serious scientist came out to play.

"Tornado, listen!" he yelled, all Kid Flash and in charge, "We're on the verge of a stage three super volcano eruption! There's no turning back from that! We need to vent pressure fast, but the ash cloud will bring on a world-wide nuclear winter unless you can divert it!" Turning to Robin he shouted, "Triangulate a realm of pressure locus."

Robin, clearly deferring to Wally's expertise, gave a quick nod and pulled up his virtual computer, his fingers flying over the keys, "Right." He pointed out the red dots on the volcanic simulation. "There… there, and… there!"

The two of them expectantly turned to Artemis and she swallowed the immobilizing thought that the fate of the world now lay in her bow.

Reassuring herself that her thermal three-way missile arrow would seek out the hot points she stepped forward, outwardly unflinching and released a steadying breath as she settled her target and released the tri-shafted arrow at the marks with pinpoint accuracy.

The ash and steam spilling forth from the explosion sites let her know she'd succeeded and it was then left to Tornado to tunnel the enormous ash cloud out of the Earth's atmosphere. The team watched, suspended by the awe-inspiring sight as the full-on hero saved the world.

The euphoria that claimed them all lasted well into the lab where Wally and Robin helped piece Tornado back together and get his full story. Personally, Artemis felt horrible for ever doubting the robot. He might have bolts for brains, but he had a heart of pure gold.

Literally and figuratively.

On the flight back, Robin sat in the chair behind Zatanna and asked her cheekily, "So, good kidnapping?"

"Actually yea," she replied, "Best ever."

Artemis creaked an eye open from the other side of the bioship where she'd been napping in the chair in front of Wally and watched as Robin chuckled and eagerly said, "First of many, I hope." He had his hand on the back of her chair, their faces ducked together conspiratorially.

Zatanna broke the contact by swiveling her chair away from him and muttered, "If my dad doesn't ground me for life…"

Artemis felt a kick from behind her and turned to glare at Wally. "Hey, peace, Arty!" he whispered, holding his good hand up, "Just making sure you weren't going to light her on fire with that stare or something."

"I wasn't staring!" she hissed.

"And I'm not the fastest man alive."

"_You're not_. You're uncle is."

"That's not necessarily always going to be… you know what, don't turn this around. We're talking about you and your attitude with the new girl."

"Not very effectively. Though that could be due to your general lack of communication skills."

"Ugh! Stop deflecting. What's up with you and her? She seems nice enough to me, and her multiplier spell was swwwwweeet!"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "_Nothing_. Can we drop this? What was that thing you mentioned with Doctor Fate earlier?"

Wally coughed and his face turned a shade that clashed horribly with his hair, "Oh… umm… nothing. Nevermind. Sorry I brought it up."

Artemis shook her head, forever at a loss where the speedster was concerned. "Whatever," she uttered before swiveling her chair back and catching the knowing look Aqualad was sending her. She folded her arms and ignored him too, focusing her gaze out the window at the passing puffy clouds they zoomed through.

Sure enough, the second the bioship's ramp dropped down in the Mount Justice hangar, Zatara grabbed his daughter by the elbow, hauling her off toward the zeta tube. He was muttering as he left, "She's grounded for life!"

Artemis almost felt sorry for the girl.

That was, until Zatanna looked back over her shoulder at Robin and cried, "Ekat a tibbar etuc drib llacer em!" An adorable white bunny materialized, squirming in Robin's arms. It had startling, bright blue eyes. Her father scowled and led her into the tube but before the zeta beam transferred them away, she threw Robin a wink.

Wally sidled up next to his friend and flung his good arm over his shoulders. "So, whatcha going to call it?"

Robin calmed the struggling bundle, softly stroking the snow-white fur and thinking for a minute before he grinned and looked up at Artemis who had come over to investigate the ball of adorableness against her will. "Sirius."

"Seriously?" Wally asked skeptically and then laughed, "I think Sirius Black would object to being a bunny."

Artemis stared at the domino mask covering Dick's eyes for a minute and then sniffed, quickly walking away to the locker room.

"Dude!" She heard Wally saying as she left, "What's up with her?"

"She knows it wasn't that Sirius," Robin softly replied.


	8. Target 8

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice' or "We're the Kids in America."_

_A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Also, major clues in this chapter on Jon's identity. This chapter deals with more adult themes but nothing graphic so I'm keeping the rating as is. If anyone thinks it needs to be raised, please just let me know. As for where Robin got the idea for Sirius the bunny, Masked Reflection guessed it! Look up Orion and his myths if you'd like to learn more on the connection. Also thanks to the review from Blu!_

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><p>The final textbook of the week crashed to the bottom of her locker with a wonderfully vindictive BANG! as Artemis found herself humming and then actually singing- yes, that's right, <em>singing <em>- "Friday night and ev-eryooone's moving, I can feel the heat but it's soooth-ing. Heading down, I seearch foor tha beeat in this dirty town!" -albeit under her breath.

"Shouldn't be hard in this town…" Dick said, a sly grin forming as he appeared at her side out of nowhere, the backpack containing his Robin costume and copious amounts of unnecessary pre-cal homework slung carelessly over his shoulder. His hair was gelled back to perfection and his blue eyes unhidden.

_How could a simple domino mask ever have fooled her?_ It was now impossible for her not to see Robin every time she was around Dick at school, and likewise, she couldn't get Dick out of her head every time she was with Robin on missions or in the Mountain.

"I thought you were avoiding me?" she asked carefully, closing her locker with a soft click and turning to face him. At the prospect of the coming weekend, the halls were quickly emptying and they found themselves mostly alone. Artemis wondered if Red was still mad at Dick.

He winced and made sure no one was near before replying, "It's just better this way."

_Better for Bruce Wayne and his secrets, you mean_, Artemis thought sourly. "What's the harm in us being friends here?" she mustered as innocently as possible.

Instead of directly answering her, he focused on her long ponytail and commented, "You have really pretty golden hair, Artemis." He smirked at her confused reaction before continuing in a low whisper, "It's very…_distinct_."

_Oh. _"Well, your black hair is too," she responded petulantly. She _had_ figured out his identity. Obviously it wasn't as full proof as he seemed to think it was.

"Thank you, I take pains to make it look this way."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you do…"

"The point being, if someone were to associate your distinctive looks with a certain someone else's, they might see in your friends similar comparisons. It's too risky."

"I think you're being ridiculous… not to mention more than a little P-A-R-A-N-O-I-D."

He gave a charming smile that Artemis was sure Wayne must have taught him. "I come by it honestly."

Just then, Jon rounded the corner and spied her talking with Dick. Towering over them both, his elegant, slender frame giving him the air of a King on High, he addressed Artemis, "Still associating with freshies? Tisk, tisk." He gave Dick an icy glare that would have rendered a normal freshman comatose. Dick complacently stared back. "Don't you have a limo some chauffer should be escorting you to right now, Grayson?"

"It's at the shop," Dick answered irreverently. "Guess I'll just have to slum with plebs like you for now."

Jon narrowed his eyes at Dick and then, ignoring him, turned back to Artemis. "Rupert and Xander are dragging me to a new club tonight." Artemis wrinkled her nose in distaste. She'd had the misfortune of meeting Jon's college friends a few times when they'd come to pick him up and drop him off from his duel credit classes when the Impala had been especially uncooperative. They were cretins and excessively skeezy in her book.

Jon noticed her distaste. "I know you don't like them, and sometimes they frustrate me as well, that's why I was hoping you'd come with me and make the experience a little more tolerable."

Artemis bit her lip and stole a glance at Dick who now had his arms folded and a frown marring his normally easy-going face. "Umm…what about my age?"

"Do you plan on underage drinking?" he laughed and she immediately felt childish.

"No…"

"Well then, it shouldn't be an issue. Although you might have to spend a while scrubbing at the stamp they're going to brand you with. Think you can handle it?"

Artemis looked uncertainly at Dick. The team didn't have an official training session with Canary tonight but they'd all agreed to spend some time watching a movie together and hanging out as part of Aqualad's new team building exercise. Dick now raised a brow, seeming to remind her of this and she gave an apologetic grimace. He rolled his eyes slightly and sighed before giving her a nod.

She turned back to Jon. "Alright, let's do it."

* * *

><p>Club Callisto was located by the Gotham docks in the Warehouse District. It was just far enough removed from the hum and vibrant buzz at the heart of the city to render the seeping darkness surrounding it moderately to alarmingly eerie.<p>

Artemis shivered and pulled her trusty black jacket a little snugger about her shoulders. "Are you guys sure about this place? It smells like rotten fish…rotten, lonely little fish that have been abandoned in the middle of no where."

Xander, an Irish-American with thick brown hair, cruel dark eyes, and a boxer's physique, sneered, "You afraid, Blondie?" a faint Irish lilt peppering his words.

Artemis riled and tilted her chin up defiantly. "No," she answered quickly, "I just think this club's scene leaves a lot to be desired." A flash of movement somewhere beyond the darkness at the top of one of the old warehouses caught her attention but then vanished like a spirit, probably never having been there at all. She swallowed the crisp night air, and, as though it were a knife, felt her confidence begin to shred once more.

"Shadows and harbor smells are nothing to fear, Artemis," Jon whispered softly from beside her. "Real fear comes only from within our own minds."

"Besides," Rupert added with his usual ribald humor, shaggy dark blonde hair falling across his sly green/blue eyes and his damnable smirk in place as he flung an arm casually around Artemis's shoulders, "I'd never let anything happen to our little minnow."

Artemis shrugged out of the twenty-year old's embrace and shoved him non-too gently away. "Ugh… aren't there some unwitting co-eds you could be offending right now instead?"

"None as zingy as you," he teased, waggling his eyebrows and making to grab her again, but then Jon glared at him and Rupert backed off, suddenly cowed.

While Artemis thought it passingly strange that a High School student could completely shut-up a rather athletic, seemingly confident frat jock like Rupert with a single look, she didn't have time to dwell as a pounding subterranean beat from behind the warehouse doors assaulted them and a burly bouncer in a black suit complete with black tie and biceps that had to be illegal they were so huge stopped them. Xander and Rupert shamelessly displayed their fake id's and strutted in like conquering heroes, the blue light from within showcasing a riving throng and tendrils of warm smoke.

She was pleased when Jon showed the man his real id and quickly produced hers. Once branded on the back of their hands with the club's underage stamp, a silver crescent moon, they entered into the pounding, frenzied mass, Artemis both excited and a little revolted by some of the things she saw.

The crowd on the dance space was grinding this way and that, girls bending and rubbing like cats as the guys grabbed and tangled themselves in a sultry haze. By the bar, one girl sat draped over a man's lap like a rag doll, her face in a stupor and her body at such an angle as to leave very little to the imagination.

Jon took in the scene indifferently and bent down to whisper, her senses tingling at the feeling of his lips purposefully ghosting over the shell of her ear, "Let's find a table, shall we?"

She nodded mutely, not trusting her voice to be heard above the incessantly throbbing tunes that never seemed to let up and allowed him to lead her, his fingers nimbly directing at the small of her back.

Finding a sheltered booth in a back alcove, devoid of cigarette butts and couples making out, the two settled in and waited for the inevitable return of Xander and Rupert. Artemis stole a glance up at Jon's face and saw a bored frown as he regarded the dancers. She idly wondered if he'd ever 'danced' with anyone like that. He was tall but very graceful, willowy almost- sort of how she had envisioned Ichabod before he'd gone and lost his head.

She found herself quietly asking, "Would you like to d…"

The rueful twitch of his lips stilled her question better than brakes. "I'll go and get us some drinks."

Xander wandered over to her booth as she waited for Jon to return. Already having indulged in all his fake id had to offer, he was rosy cheeked as his Irish accent slurred, "You'd run screaming if you knew what's good for you…"

Artemis sniffed and kept her distance, arms folded. "And why's that?"

Xander's blurry eyes widened and he wavered on his feet before falling heavily into the booth next to her. She quickly scooted as far away as possible. "Be-cause you interest h-h-him," he hiccupped, "s'no good when that happens. He has a way of scaring off tha things that interest him."

"Xander," Jon said, his voice like sleet, hard and cold. Xander jumped up from the booth so fast his knee hit the table and he bit back a yelp. "What were you and Artemis talking about?"

"I was just…uh…"

"He was being weird," Artemis supplied helpfully.

But rather than laugh, Xander fearfully shook his head and whispered shakily, "I didn't mean anythin' by it. I'll leave you to it then," and quickly lurched away.

"What's up with your friends tonight?" She asked, truly perplexed by their odd behavior.

Jon shrugged and handed her a cold glass of clear, bubbly liquid. Artemis took it hesitantly and gave a sniff, detecting fizzy carbonation and a hint of lemon. She looked up and found Jon smirking at her. "They only had sierra mist and Pepsi. I took my chances."

Artemis smiled and took a deep sip. "Sorry for doubting. You really don't keep the best of company though."

His smirk deepened and he scooted a little closer to her. "Look who's talking."

"Present company excluded."

A haunting, methodical melody came on, a welcome reprieve from the head-pounding techno beat that had been drumming on. Jon leveled his ice-blue eyes at her and whispered, "I'll take that dance now."

Artemis felt light-headed, her heart beat quickening. "My idea of dancing is a little warped…" she objected, thinking of all the times she'd performed with Robin, the Joker, and countless others with her bow, her combat boots… her bare fists.

"All the better," he said before hauling her to her surprisingly shaky legs and, taking a firm hold of her hand, leading her to the center of the slowly gyrating throng. She found her limbs weary, heavy as though she'd just arm-wrestled the man of steel. Jon seemed to sense her trouble and placed her arms around his neck for her, his own hands sliding down her sides to finally come to a rest at her hips. They swayed and Artemis felt her body being drawn to his, as though his scarecrow-like frame were all that could keep her up.

Finally, the alternating lights blurring together with the faces and bodies around her, she felt her knees give out and realized that Jon really was supporting her, no… dragging her outside. Fresh air filled her lungs and Artemis was engulfed in darkness as she vaguely saw the club door close behind them. The overbearing noise came to a staggering and chilling silence; the only sound the lapping of inky water against the nearby docks.

Now frightened, she searched out Jon in the darkness but saw only blurry shadows coming closer, slowly, as though they were limping. A bloody Cheshire mask grinned wide across the face of one and as it knelt down next to her, Artemis shrieked in horror when she realized that the mask was real, the blood dripping and pooling in cat-like scratches down the torn and ragged clothing and arms. Jade's mask was now a part of her face and the grin was cut like the Joker's handiwork so that it was impossibly wide and grotesque. Although her sister couldn't talk, the black pits in the eye sockets of the mask seemed to scream with pain and bore into her soul with recrimination. _How dare she live her happy little lie while Jade gave everything, day in and day out with the League of Assassins merely to survive!_

"I'M SORRY!" Artemis wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached a hand out to her sister only to find Sportmaster in Jade's place. She recoiled as though burned and shuffled backward on the pavement until her back hit something solid and she found herself trapped.

Sportmaster said nothing but slowly advanced on her. Artemis curled into a ball and hid her head beneath her arms protectively. "Go away… go away…" she begged, her own voice sounding distant and tiny to her ears. "I'm through with you…" she whispered in a sob. Then she felt his iron grasp seize her upper arm and was forcibly hauled to her feet. She tried to hit him, but her arms wouldn't cooperate. She ducked her head and refused to look at him, the tears falling like rain drops to the pavement below them.

"Not yet…" he whispered. She heard the far-off noise of fabric being ripped and the dim awareness of the cold night-air seeping into her skin, a skeletal hand roughly pinning her stomach to the bricks behind her. Then all saw was black.

* * *

><p>"Artemis…" Dick's voice was low and urgent. Artemis struggled to open her heavy lids and found herself in an alley, awkwardly cradled in Robin's arms. A gust of cool air breezed through and she violently shivered, realizing that Robin's cape was wrapped around her body and beneath that she wasn't wearing anything, <em>at all<em>.

She tried to sit up but found that her body wasn't responding. Wearily, she huddled deeper into his cape and leaned against his warm chest. "Wha…? …what's going on?" Her voice was scratchy and barely above a whisper.

She could just make out the pained expression on Robin's face in the dawning light. "I followed you Artemis, but then you went inside and when all the others began coming out and I didn't see you I began scouring the nearby streets and alleyways. You were curled up, shaking…uh….not wearing anything…and you kept muttering, 'no,' even when I wrapped my cloak around you." He looked very uncomfortable and avoided her eyes. "I called Batman, he's coming to get us right now…"

"Wait…" Artemis mumbled, the blurry fog covering her mind beginning to dissipate as true panic started setting in, "You followed me where?"


	9. Target 9

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'Young Justice.'_

_A/N: I apologize for taking so long on this one, I have excuses but they're not particularly good. Mostly, it was just hard to write Artemis after what had happened. I'm not really pleased with how this came out. Also, I'm not including the events of "Failsafe." At least not in this chapter. It was a great episode though. Thanks, as always to those who reviewed, you guys are probably some of the best reviewers I've ever had on a story and I really appreciate your continued support._

* * *

><p>Batman's arrival and their trip back to the Batcave passed in a blur to Artemis. She was aware of her head lulling against Robin's shoulder during the trip, a brief moment when it seemed like the car was flying under a waterfall, and then darkness and the screeching of thousands of bats overhead.<p>

For his part, Robin just held her close in the co-pilot seat, offering his support and what little comfort he could. She finally stopped shivering somewhere between the heat in the car, Robin's cloak, and the thick wool blanket she'd somehow been wrapped in. When the car came to a halt in the cave, Batman hopped out and came around to their side. He gathered up Artemis easily in his powerful arms and carried her to a treatment table where he gently sat her down and went to retrieve something near a massive computer consul.

Robin jumped up next to her on the table and carefully put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against his side and watched as Batman and Alfred, the butler she'd met at the banquet, slowly approached her. Behind them came a gray-haired woman around Alfred's age wearing a white medical gown.

Alfred handed her a mug of steaming liquid and Artemis's shaking hands reached out and grasped it. She didn't trust herself to drink it so she just held it, soaking up the warmth.

Batman's normally rough voice had a gentler edge to it as he said, introducing the grey-haired woman, "This is Dr. Leslie Thompkins. She's an old friend you can trust. She's going to check you over and perform some examinations." Artemis mutely nodded and he went on, addressing Dick, "Robin, we need to give them some privacy, come on."

As Dick reluctantly started to pull away, Artemis felt a chill of panic rush through her and almost grabbed for his hand but managed to stop herself at the last moment.

He noticed her spasm. "It'll be alright," he whispered, "Dr. Thompkins is the best and I'll be right back as soon as she's done."

Artemis willed herself to nod and watched the dynamic duo and their butler retreat up a narrow flight of stairs carved into the cave's side.

Dr. Thompkins, a consummate professional, quickly and efficiently set about her examination, a constant stream of soothing questions and words keeping her from bolting during the more invasive swaths and probings.

Her mind feeling as numb as her body, Artemis finally got up the nerve to ask in a hallow-sounding voice, "Was I raped?"

Dr. Thompkins wordlessly handed her a sweatshirt and some matching sweatpants, gently directing her toward the privacy of a small changing room near what seemed to be the cave's training area before carefully replying, "Your hymen is still intact so we can rule that out." Artemis felt her entire body go slack with relief. "However," the woman went on, causing her to stiffen once more, "I do see signs of a struggle and some bruising down there. We'll know more once the samples Batman collected where you were found and those that I've just gathered have been run."

Feeling slightly less dead inside, Artemis tugged her limbs into the soft cotton sweats and emerged somewhat fortified from the changing room to greet the Batclan. Robin- minus his cape and domino mask- led her by the hand like she was a little girl to the training mat near some rings and gymnastics equipment that would normally have had her itching to try them out and encouraged her to sit down next to him on the cushion as Batman- also minus his cape and cowl- joined them. Alfred laid out some more hot tea for them at the edge of the mat and then, after a kind look at Artemis, retreated with Dr. Thompkins to give them privacy. Artemis didn't have to ask to know that the good doctor had already apprised them of her findings.

She blearily stared into one pair of intense blue eyes only to turn and find another pair trained on her as well. "You know, you two really could pass for father and son."

"Dick told me you discovered our identities the night of the banquet," Bruce Wayne said in a low, even voice. It was beyond strange for Artemis to see the handsome billionaire, Gotham's Prince, in the Batsuit, but knowing what she did, she found she couldn't really imagine anyone else in it. She nodded and waited for him to continue. "He also recounted to me what happened last night but there were some obvious holes I need you to fill in." There was no, 'Are you up for it?' or 'We can take this slow if you need to." This was still Batman, and from what Dick mentioned of his modus apparatus, he didn't coddle.

Artemis cleared her throat. "Ask away," she managed to croak.

"How and when did you leave the club?"

She stole herself and thought back, "…I…remember being very dizzy on the dance floor with… _Jon_." It was harder than she'd thought it'd be to say his name. "He's the one that invited me, and then being outside…I guess behind the club near the backdoor. It probably happened only a half-hour or so after entering."

Bruce nodded like he expected this. "And then what happened?"

"There were…shadows. They…I'm not sure what happened. I can't really remember anything after that. I guess that was when I blacked out. The next thing that happened was waking up to see Robin." She looked to Dick who was right next to her, and found herself grateful for his proximity. It was reassuring in the large, cold cave with the intense, over-powering presence of 'Bruce/Bat' in front of her.

Dick gently probed, "The shadows you saw, can you describe them?"

She felt herself begin to shiver again despite the sweatshirt and the heat of his body so near. "They weren't real," she said, more to herself than her audience.

"All the same," Bruce pressed, "They might offer us some clues."

Artemis saw the bloody mask, felt the press of Sportsmaster's hand against her abdomen and then sobbed. She hated herself in that instant- a deep self-loathing that extended to the very core of her being, but she was powerless to stop it.

"Bruce…" Dick pleaded.

"No," Batman cut him off, his face etched from stone in a mask far more fearsome than the cowl, "If you can't describe the shadows than what about before you were on the dance floor. Did he give you something?"

Artemis quickly wiped away at the moisture, and nodded. "Yes, I remember a drink. It smelled and tasted like sprite but he obviously dosed it with something."

"Did the computer finish with the tox report yet?" Dick asked his mentor.

"It came out with high traces of papaver somniferum."

Artemis's head shot up. "Opium?"

A brief raised eyebrow indicated that Bruce was impressed. "Yes, only it was a rare strain. The closest I could match it to is the blue poppy seed native to the Himalayas."

"It seems kind of a stretch for Jonathan to get his hands on something like that…" Dick muttered.

"The League of Shadows has ties to that region," Bruce reminded them.

Artemis bit her lip and finally managed to mutter, "The hallucination I saw included Cheshire and Sportsmaster…"

While Bruce knew some of Artemis's past, Robin didn't, so Bruce merely nodded, taking in the new information.

"But if it was a hit by the League, what am I still doing alive?"

"We can't be sure what you saw. Right now, we need to find out how this Jonathan Crane got his hands on such a rare plant and what he did with it. In the meantime, I need the two of you to collaborate a story and go to the police with it."

"What?" Artemis cried in confusion as Dick exclaimed at the same time, "You can't be serious?"

Bruce levelled his gaze at the both of them and they immediately shut up. "I'm dead serious." He turned to Artemis. "You're a fifteen year old girl who was just drugged and potentially date raped," she cringed at the blunt explanation but he went on, "Not a super hero who puts her life on the line every week."

She ducked her head, acknowledging he was right. Heaving a sigh, she put a hand on Dick's arm as he began to protest. "No, I agree. It would seem odd if I didn't report this to the police, and anyway, the scumbag could use a wake-up call until the League can figure out if there's really any connection there."

Bruce left them in the cave to go get Alfred who would take Artemis home. Alone together on the mat, she turned so that they were facing each other Indian style. He stared at her but said nothing, waiting for her to speak.

"I could ask you what you were doing last night…following me," she began.

He cocked his head to the side, a signature Robin move that looked very natural coming from Dick. "I wouldn't if I were you."

Quietly, she asked, "What were you doing last night following me, Dick?"

"I was worried about you," he answered simply, his blue eyes still unflinchingly staring back at her.

"…you didn't think I could handle myself?"

He gave her a pointed look.

"Well, alright…in retrospect it does seem I owe you a…"

"Maybe if we spell it together. Here, I'll start, T…ow!" he whined as she gave him a half-hearted slap. He caught her hand though, before she could snatch it back and held it between both of his, his expression turned serious. "We're going to catch that creep, Artemis."

Artemis sniffed and slowly leaned the rest of her body into his embrace, her head pressed against the crook of his neck as his lithe form engulfed her in a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered. She felt him nod stiffly in response and pull away.

"So…" he said, his voice a little higher than usual, "What's the plan?"

* * *

><p>Her mother was understandably upset when Alfred dropped her off at home, but after Artemis had told her a slightly edited version of what had happened, she quickly hugged her and even made her some soup, tucking her in bed awkwardly from her wheelchair and staying in her room stroking her hair until she was sure from Artemis's controlled breathing that she was asleep. Having not gotten much rest the night before, Artemis was feeling very tired, but she wasn't able to really nod off into a restless slumber until hours later.<p>

That night, she dreamed of Sportsmaster. Like Cheshire, the sockets behind his hockey mask revealed nothing but deep, endless pools of cold, black energy. Without speech or pause, he jammed his javelin through her navel in one fluid terrible motion and stood silent before her as she crumbled. When she cried out his name, he ignored her and walked away. She began screaming his name as blood gushed from her middle but soon he had vanished and she could feel herself slipping…slipping…a burgeoning fear of death ripening inside her until she was choking on it, unable to breath…

She woke gasping, the panic taking a while to subside, her pillow wet with tears and her blanket and sheets a twisted wreck to the side of her bed. As she showered and prepared to meet Dick who would accompany her to the police station, she found the bruises Dr. Thompkins had mentioned. Deep purple blotches, patterned like fingers dotting her inner thighs and her lower stomach, right where Sportmaster had stabbed her in the nightmare. When she wiped the steam from the mirror and peered into her face, she was shocked at the dark circles around her eyes and her hallowed cheeks. She looked haunted, bloodless.

Reeling back from the mirror, she quickly towelled off and shrugged into a worn t-shirt and a faded pair of old jeans, searching fruitlessly a few minutes for her black jacket before realizing that she'd lost it at the club Friday night. One more thing to curse Jon for.

* * *

><p>At Gotham Police Station, Dick and Artemis spotted Barbara coming toward them from behind the rows of uniform police desks. "Umm…how much does she know about you?" Artemis whispered under her breath to him without turning her face.<p>

Dick likewise answered, "She's the Commissioner's daughter. She knows Bruce is more than a playboy and that I'm a bit more than the mathlete."

"Thanks, that was very helpful." Artemis's sarcasm appeared lost on the boy wonder however, as he had his gaze locked on the approaching Redhead.

Barbara, eyeing the pair of them speculatively, ignored Artemis and asked, "What's going on, Dick?"

"Artemis was attacked last night. I happened to hear her call for help and when I came up, the goon ran off. We're here to file a report."

There. He'd said it. Condensed as it was, the lie didn't sound half bad.

Barbara looked inquiringly at Artemis, her expression softening somewhat. "Oh…are you alright?"

Artemis didn't have to work too hard for shell-shocked as she replied, "Yea…just shaken up. I'm glad Dick was there."

The other girl pursed her lips and eyed Dick suspiciously. "Yes, it's good that he was. Did you get a look at your attacker?"

Here goes… "Actually, I did," Artemis whispered, looking nervously around for extra effect, "It was Jonathan."

Barbara's eyebrows soared and she opened her mouth, probably to say 'told you so' to Dick, but he quickly covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head. Not here. She narrowed her eyes but finally nodded and he lowered his hand. "I'll be with Alfred after the two of you finish. We're going to talk about this," she promised, tapping Dick's shoulder for emphasis. He dully nodded and she joined Alfred in the waiting area.

"So what's her story?" Artemis asked curiously a moment later as they started filling out their forms at the large reception desk.

"What do ya mean?" Dick responded, a bit overly nonchalant in Artemis's opinion.

"Well, I'm just wondering when you're going to let Zatanna know that you're already married."

That got Dick to crack a smile. "What does the green in your outfit stand for again?"

Artemis snorted. "So how'd you two become besties?"

"Sixth grade…let's just say being a crime-fighting sidekick vigilante and the commissioner's daughter, we sort of bonded in P.E. during a rope climbing exercise."

"Sounds like a pretty interesting story," Artemis prompted.

Dick smirked. "Yea, it is," and didn't go on.

"She can take care of herself?" He shot her curious sideways glance. "I heard her up in your room that night."

"Ah…Barbara is really into competitive gymnastics. Her dad has also had her taking martial arts self-defense courses since she could walk."

"So how come Red isn't swinging around Gotham skyscrapers with Batman and Robin dressed up like some girly bat? Sounds like she'd be primo."

"That's just it…" Dick hissed under his breath, finally seeming to tire of their conversation. "I think she'd like to."

"But Batman would never go for it?"

Dick shook his head.

"Well then, what?"

"No, he _definitely_ wouldn't go for it but I also don't want her doing this."

Artemis paused her pen, nearly done with the form, and regarded her teammate. "You care about her a lot, huh?" she asked gently.

Dick didn't answer for a while, steadfastly ignoring her question while he finished his form and handed it into the officer behind the desk. Finally, he sighed and turned to her, "I just don't want to see her get hurt."

Before Artemis had a chance to wonder if he was referring to her incident last night or just talking about the threats they faced in general, a kind-faced, middle aged officer came up and took their forms, and requested that they come back to his office so he could take their statements.

* * *

><p>An hour later, leaving the station with Barbara, who had told her dad she was going back with them to Wayne Manor, the three sat in the back of the limo and had that heart to heart Barbara had promised.<p>

"So what really happened?" She asked immediately once the limo's door slammed shut, rounding on Dick, her green eyes aflame. Artemis unconsciously scooted a little away from the pair, not wanting to catch any of the fiery wrath.

Dick cringed and looked to her though, so it was Artemis that explained, "Jon invited me to this club with some of his friends…they're a bunch of jerks so I was naively understanding when he told me he didn't want to go alone with them." She expected Barbara to make some disparaging comment on her judgement or about Jon, but the Redhead just nodded for her to continue. "It was that new club, Callisto, over by the docks. Anyway, his friends got in on fake ID's but Jon and I used our real ones. I sniffed at the soda he brought me back from the bar but it just seemed like Sprite and I'd never had any reason to doubt Jon before so I drank it. He asked me to dance and I was getting really light-headed. Next thing I know…I guess it was him, he helped me out into the alleyway behind the club. That's when I started blacking out. I came to and it was nearly morning. Dick found me and there you are."

Gently, far more so than Artemis knew the girl was capable of, Barbara asked, "You have no idea what he did to you in that alley?"

Unable to look her or Dick in the eyes, the shame so intense that Artemis wished she could just melt away into the leather upholstery in that moment, she whispered, "He didn't go all the way…"

Artemis jumped when she felt a hand clasp her own, and looked up to find Barbara staring at her, not with pity, but with determination. "That doesn't excuse him. A few years ago, when we were in competition over the science fair, I discovered that he was using illegal substances in his project. He found out and rigged the whole exhibit hall to explode the night before, making it look like an accident caused by the helium in my project…but not before he slammed me against a locker in a deserted hallway and…intimidated me." Artemis knew she was meaning he had degraded her. She nodded for Barbara to continue. "He's so smart he thinks he can play with people however he wants. It's time we brought him down."

"I'm in, whatever it takes," Artemis vowed as she felt a new respect for the girl before her. They both looked over to Dick, expecting him to jump in but found him avoiding their eyes.

Finally, his fists clenched, he turned to them and said in an icy voice she'd only heard Dick use once before- _Well get traught or GET DEAD! - _"Crane is going to pay."


	10. Target 10

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: Own 'Young Justice,' I do not. Rick Riodan, own Percy Jackson you do. Any other references to mythology come from really long-ago dead people. I do not own 'Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron,' DreamWorks does… Robert Frost wrote the poem, 'Ice and Fire.' Let's just say I actually don't own a whole lot. _

_A/N: This begins with 'Failsafe' and moves through the counseling sessions in 'Disordered.' It was nice to see Dick having that conflict building that eventually turns him to Nightwing. This chapter might be a little icky, so be forewarned._

* * *

><p>'<em>Gotcha covered!'<em> Artemis mentally called as she released her explosive-tipped arrows at the oncoming E.T. hostiles. They made very satisfying direct hits and two of the ships starting going down, one creating a huge shower of powdery, upturned snow upon impact with the arctic landscape. _'Get inside, I'm almost there!' _she ordered, turning and sprinting to her team for all she was worth.

She was only twenty meters away, the snow crunching noisily under her boots but holding, when suddenly M'gann's voice warned, _'Artemis, behind you!'_

Artemis quickly pivoted, bringing around her bow and an already loaded arrow as she did so, but before she could so much as release the explosive, the hostile's beam was on her. She had just enough time to think, '_no…' _before a searing, blindingly painful fire was consuming her and she was dead.

Or at least… she thought she was. Opening her clenched eyelids, she was surrounded in an inky blackness, but she wasn't alone. A meter ahead of her, on some wobbly wooden surface stood a man, or what she thought was a man as his large form was concealed behind a gnarled, moth-eaten cloak, its imposing gray the swirling shade of soulless clouds that obliterate all colours before them. A lamp, steadily swinging back and forth from a pole in front of the man, further showed that the wobbly wooden surface was in fact a boat, and the guy some sort of gondolier.

She heard the sound of water lapping against the prow, but when she leaned over to investigate, there was only darkness. She curiously tried to reach a hand out to feel if the water was there or merely an illusion, but found her hand couldn't go over the side of the boat. It was like the command between her brain and her arm got lost somewhere. She tried to call out to the oarsman, but her voice died in her throat by the same manner.

Slowly, a red glow in the distance grew nearer until their small gondola emerged from the black cave of nothingness they'd been floating through, out onto a vast wasteland of despair. Artemis unconsciously drew her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth in the middle of the boat. There had been no water. She saw that now.

Instead, their boat seemed to glide along a river made of sulphuric air and… things. Sad, lonely things that floated with them such as a broken dvd, a half-eaten over ripe apple, a dead puppy, a shrivelled rose, a smashed trophy…

Beyond the sulphuric haze, she thought she heard a scream. As the gondola neared a charred, barren beach made of blackened sand, she knew it was a scream for now they were everywhere. Screams of terror, moans of pain, wails of agony… they were the only sounds one could hear.

Her oarsman drew their craft beside the beach and it came to a silky stop, the noxious fumes rising like yellow ribbons all around them. Artemis prayed that she could hide where she was between the two planked seats but the oarsman turned, his skeletal features just visible past the shadow of his hood. Without willing it, her body rose from the boat and carefully stepped onto the beach. She felt the gondola disappear and knew that there was no escape to be had behind her.

Expecting a slobbering three-headed dog to greet her at any moment, Artemis was more than surprised when a tall, thin-to-the-point-of-emaciated figure in a sharply tailored black suit complete with a narrow black tie and shiny dress shoes materialized out of the hazy vapours. A black fedora covered his head, his face swathed in shadows like the gondolier, but she could see locks of shiny, dark brown hair peaking out from under it, curling elegantly at the back to the nape of his white neck. This was not a corpse however. The very living, very long, pale white fingers on one of his flesh-covered hands was wrapped around the hilt of a wickedly lethal scythe about as tall and sharp looking as he was.

…_Artemis…_

Though he did not move his lips, she heard her name as clear as a bell, and it came from a melodious, threatening voice she knew well.

Still unable to speak, she tried to scramble back, only remembering too late that there was nothing but the screaming void of sulphuric despair behind her. She stopped with her heels melting into it, her hair beginning to singe with a sickening burnt smell mixed with that of rotting eggs.

He lifted his chin a fraction but it was enough for the red glow around them to cast the sharp, aristocratic features of his angular face into relief. There was no flaw on his pearly white skin, his lips were full, his cheekbones chiselled from Adonis. There was no emotion in his glacial eyes, only a light cyan aurora like a hellish spectre trapped behind ice.

He looked like the angel of death, equal parts terror and beauty.

His ghoulish orbs looked strait through her and he smiled softly before knocking the staff of his scythe against the black beach once, a puff of fine charcoal dust billowing out behind him on a searing breeze. The fine sand grains coalesced into three distinct shapes: A tall, powerfully built man, a slender young woman with wild hair, and a weaker one in a chair.

The black sand blew away slowly as living flesh emerged from beneath, revealing an emotionless Lawrence Crock, his muscular arms folded, a bored Jade Crock twirling a three-pronged ninja dagger carelessly in her left hand, and a weary Paula Crock trapped forever in her wheelchaired prison.

In horror, Artemis could only watch, a strangled scream ripping her throat to pieces as Jade smirked at her, gave the dagger one more twirl, and then swiftly plunged it into their mother's forehead. Paula Crock's sad, tortured face, lifeless eyes opened wide in shock, lurched forward as her entire frame crumpled and then fell into the black swallowing sands, disappearing beneath them as though she'd never been there at all.

A second dagger appeared in Jade's right hand, but before she could throw it at their father, he plucked it from her fingers like she was still a wayward infant and wrapped one of his massive hands around her graceful neck, squeezing until Jade's once beautiful face turned purple and her tongue lolled. The crunching sound of her vertebrae snapping seemed to bounce around Artemis's head as she watched, transfixed, as her father squeezed even more until Jade's entire body popped like a balloon and disintegrated back into the sands.

His hockey mask forming from wisps of curling red flames licking his face, Sportsmaster now advanced on Artemis but as soon as he passed the…_Death Angel? The Skeletal Sentinel? ..._the scythe flared to life, and with a vicious, single twist, decapitated her father's head. The grotesque object, blood spraying across the charcoal sands, spun through the air, the blonde hair from behind the mask trailing like the tail of a comet as it barrelled towards a petrified Artemis.

Just the moment before Lawrence Crock's head crashed into her startled face, his blue eyes showed the faintest flicker of sorrow for that fraction of an instant as they were mirrored in her own, the very same eyes. But like a detonation, his head exploded at the impact a moment later and she found herself covered in a fine layer of the black sand. Grainy, and oozing like blood from a fresh wound, it dribbled down her chin, her neck, her chest, and further until it invaded her very soul.

The Angel of Death swooped upon her then like a feeding vulture, ravenously devouring her flesh and digging the razor edge of his scythe into her core. As he leisurely raked the blade upward through her abdomen, navel, and sternum, effectively cleaving her in two, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her own. She choked as she felt his scaly forked tongue, like that of a snake, force its way into her mouth and slither down her convulsing throat, burning a fiery path and corroding her from the inside as though it were acid. From his mouth, still locked to her own in the most perverse first kiss she could have ever imagined, he breathed a cold blast of rancid air into the two halves of her split body, filling each side with putrid revulsion and narrowing her fast-diminishing gaze to the churning aurora of hell waiting for her behind his icy stare.

The chill there froze her, an inch from death with all the pain of the world locked inside her, ripping apart at her severed seams but unable to escape. A single tear fell from her eyes and she watched, immobile as it too, froze.

He gave a second chaste, almost tender kiss, his lips barely ghosting over hers before he drew back slightly and licked the crystal tear from her cheek. His long, dark lashes fell, his eyes lowering as he savoured the taste of it and softly whispered, _Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice._ He slowly backed away from her, his forked-tongue flicking. _From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favour fire_. He raised his scythe aloft with one hand, the red flames flickering in its polished sheen. _But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate,_ he hissed the word with a devilish smile and casually adjusted his fedora so it once more veiled his face. _To say that for destruction ice, is also great_. His voice dropped as he whispered, so faint now, it could have been the sulphuric breeze swirling all around her frozen body. He slashed the scythe in a downward stroke, a final, killing blow.

_And would suffice_.

Artemis's eyes snapped open and the scream that had been tearing her insides apart was finally, mercifully, given release. Her blurred vision saw Red Tornado above her, holding her shoulders steady as she twisted and writhed but she couldn't stop the screaming until her lungs ran out of air and her head fell back with a pang against the metallic surface of the medical table she was lying on top of.

Gradually, so slowly she thought the world had slowed around her during her trip to hell, the pained and concerned faces around her came into focus and her heart rate slowed.

_The simulation. _

They'd all been performing a training exercise… but everything since she'd been hit by the hostile E.T. beam had felt _so real_. The intensity of it, just thinking about it, brought bile to her already sore throat.

As soon as she'd stopped screaming and struggling, Red Tornado released her. Artemis groaned and quickly sat up, a migraine splitting her head just as the death angel's last slice should have. She leaned over the side of her table and purged the contents of her stomach, the acidic aftertaste familiar.

"…Still, you were aware nothing was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League," Batman was telling them all in his most controlled tone. He looked up at her state, and something akin to concern flashed behind the visors in his cowl.

Martian Manhunter beside him, doubled over as though he'd suffered his own migraine, quietly interjected, "That is why you hardly grieved, even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes. But all that changed when Artemis died…"

She felt her teams' gaze fall on her and avoided their stares, choosing to glare instead at the polished floor.

So the rest of the team had suffered too, and she was the cause. The now familiar pang of shame began to eat away at her recent fear, replacing it with self-loathing. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, letting the numbness take control for a bit as she ignored everything around her and focused on her breathing, pulling herself back together.

"…and her subconscious took control," Manhunter was saying when her ears finally tuned back in. "Making all of you forget too."

M'gann looked devastated, her face wet with tears.

_So Miss Martian had done this, unwittingly_. Artemis felt sympathy, but it was too lost in the sea of other emotions to allow her to comfort her friend. At least in that moment.

"This isn't her fault!" Conner fumed. "Why didn't you stop the exercise?" The entire team looked up at Batman and Martian Manhunter accusingly, mirroring the question.

Manhunter shook his head and responded sadly, "We tried. But M'gann had a deathgrip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who should have awakened upon her death, was so convinced she had passed, she slipped into a coma." Artemis shut her eyes, fighting the images of her so-called _coma_. "I realized I would have to wrest control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within. But upon entering, I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much…noise to think clearly, to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad and Superboy helped. But only when the mothership exploded and Robin and Kid Flash were silenced did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose- to shock M'gann out of the exercise…before your comas became permanent…"

Artemis shuddered, once again tuning out the Manhunter and focusing on her breathing. _So all of them had died in the simulation…_

When she felt herself calm down once more, she saw that everyone was avoiding eye contact. She looked at Wally and he purposefully turned away from her. Stung, she tried to catch Robin's gaze behind his shades but he just continued steadfastly staring at the floor. M'gann began sobbing and Conner looked on helplessly as Captain Marvel comforted her. Aqualad looked lost in his own world.

Each of their League mentors escorted them home that night, so worried was everyone about the team's emotional stability. When she stumbled out of the Gotham zeta-tube into Green Arrow's arms, Artemis caught a flash of his yellow hair and stumbled back with a gasp before reminding herself that he wasn't her father…not by a long shot.

Green Arrow gave her some space, a truly concerned look behind his hooded mask. Artemis closed her eyes and swallowed the sob that longed to free itself from her turmoil. Instead, in a tight voice, she whispered, hating herself even as the words passed her lips, "Could you…stay at my home tonight, Ollie?"

His gaze softening, he gently put his arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture and began to lead her toward her apartment building. "Of course, Arty. That's what uncles are for."

* * *

><p>That night, after Oliver had explained to her mom what had happened, she laid some sheets, an old pillow, and an extra blanket patterned with beach Barbie's smiling face- Jade's old blanket, not Artemis's- over the couch in the living room. The three of them stayed up, watching '<em>Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'<em> tackle the untamed American West for an hour or so before Artemis finally felt exhaustion overtake her and, nestled warmly against the couch between the safe presence of Oliver and her mother, she nodded off into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

Oliver must have carried her up to her bed, because she awoke to Jade's familiar 'Wonderland' poster as her alarm went off. Curiously, she tiptoed downstairs to find the blanket and sheets neatly folded on the couch. Inexplicably disappointed, she sought out her mother and found her still sound asleep in her parent's bedroom. Her wheelchair was in an easily accessible position. No doubt Oliver's doing as well. She felt a pang and wished that Oliver really were her family.

It wasn't until after she'd prepared for school- a tedious process since looking at the mirror now seemed to confirm that some part of her was still dead- and started toward her usual subway station that she thought to check her cell phone. There was one text and one voice message.

The voice message was from Green Arrow. _'Hey Arty. Hope you got some rest. Star City called but I made sure your mom and you were alright before I left and Batman assured me he'd keep a lookout. Dinah is going to be giving the entire team some grief counselling sessions over the next few days and all of us agreed you guys should take the day off from school. I know it will take more time than that to heal, but rest up, and if you need me for anything, I'm only a call away.'_ BEEP!

The text message only read, 'bm: 9. no green.' Frowning at the message as she began to head back home, Artemis almost missed the familiar face that appeared as a tinted window rolled down, waving her over from the black sedan parked beside her apartment.

"Alfred?" she asked in confusion.

"Yes, my dear. Lovely to see you again," he said, stepping lithely from the vehicle and opening the back door for her. "I trust Master Wayne informed you of my coming?"

Artemis dumbly gazed back down at the text for a moment before finally coming to some grasp of the situation. "Uh… yea." She gingerly hopped in, feeling moderately safe with Alfred, as he'd driven her several times in the past week. He got back into the driver's seat and they headed off. "So what's going on?" she asked, trying to figure out if she was supposed to know about this or not.

"I believe Master Wayne wishes to tell you in person." From the rear-view mirror, Alfred must have seen her worried expression. "Never fear, young miss. In fact, I do believe you'll be quite pleased."

When the sedan pulled in front of Wayne Manor, Artemis was very surprised when Bruce Wayne himself opened her door and helped her out. "What's…

"Let's talk inside," he quickly intervened, a reassuring smile on his handsome face. Confused, Artemis could only follow as she took in his casual clothing- a black sweater, blue jeans (which may or may not have been pressed), and ordinary black sneakers.

This seemed bizarre.

Dick was likewise wearing civvies, sans the shades, when they came upon him in the grand foyer, standing to greet them beside some comfy looking furniture that must have been moved around the night of the banquet. She found her sight fixated on the four-leaf clover of his emerald green shirt, unable to meet his uncovered eyes.

Wayne moved past them and pulled a lever, a giant grandfather clock opening to the stairs that she knew led down into the Batcave.

Artemis heaved a sigh and shook her head, turning to face the less emotionally draining superhero in the room at that moment. "Alright, I give up," she said to Wayne. "What am I doing here?"

"Recent events have brought to my attention that you could use some extra training," Wayne explained, his face betraying nothing as he stood motionless beside the cave opening, waiting for her.

"But...what about your secret? Why are you suddenly trusting me so much?"

He grinned, a Bruce Wayne grin. "Because you live in my city."

"This is because I let the team down last night, isn't it? And because you feel responsible for my attack at the docks…"

"No."

"But I'm already getting training from Canary," she reasoned, shooting a sideways glance at Dick. "Plus, you know I learned from one of the best," she added quietly, referring to her top-secret background.

"You live in my city, you play by my rules. Your former teachers won't be teaching you anything new and while Canary's knowledge of martial arts is exceptional, you have the distinct disadvantage of being one of the few non-metas in the entire League, something Black Canary doesn't have to contend with."

Still rooted to her spot, Artemis put a hand on her hip. "So I'll ask again, why the sudden interest?"

The features of Wayne's face hardened into the Dark Knight's and she unconsciously took a step back like she had that night in his study, but it was Dick's near-forgotten presence beside her that quietly spoke up, "Because I asked him to."

"_Why_?"

His blue eyes were burning, but not with Jonathan's ice. Dick's eyes held wildfire. "Because you died last night and because of your attack Friday! Because you live in Gotham and go to my school. Because your presence in my life is unavoidable and I'm not equipped to watch you die or get raped or even fake die IN A SIMULATION I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WASN'T REAL!" His breath hitched and he pinched the bridge of his nose, refusing to let the tears come. So quietly she had to step closer, he went on in a broken whisper, "Because I can't be responsible. I don't want to be."

Alfred laid a comforting hand on Dick's quaking shoulder and he turned away for a moment to gather himself. When he turned back, his emotions were under control, but just barely. "I talked it over with Bruce. We agreed that you need more training. Your aim is excellent, but as we've already seen on some of our missions, it's not enough. Also, since the attack, we're going to be spending more time together at school and you need more stealth and concealment training. Batman's your best bet."

Defeated, Artemis nodded at Dick and walked toward the grandfather clock opening. "Alright," she told Wayne before descending the stairs, "But I'm not wearing mouse ears."

* * *

><p>Conner was the first one to go in for Canary's shrink wrap. Artemis folded her arms and leaned back against the kitchen wall, taking in M'gann's lifeless attempt to stir a batter of cookie dough, Wally's dazed expression as he sat in front of the team flat screen, not really watching it, and Robin and Aqualad's pensive expressions as they didn't pretend to focus on anything in particular.<p>

She hadn't seen Dick since she'd gone down into the cave with Wayne. He hadn't followed though she'd been expecting him to, wanting to talk with him about the failed simulation.

Wayne had drilled her hard on his own 3-D simulation course down in the cave, assessing her individual skills and devising a training regime to work on particular weak points.

Conner stormed out of the temporary psych ward at that moment, interrupting everyone's brooding, his normal frumpy face looking even more sullen. Without a word even to Miss Martian, he stomped off straight for the hangar. No one tried to stop him. M'gann looked away and wiped at her eyes.

"Artemis!" Canary called from within. "You're up!"

"Yippee…" Artemis muttered as she walked in, carefully shutting the door behind her.

Canary had her sit in a huge, overstuffed green chair opposite her, and then just kind of sat there for a while, waiting for Artemis to say something. After several minutes, when she found nothing forthcoming, Canary finally asked her how she was feeling and Artemis snapped.

"Look, me dying during the exercise might have starting things going south but I was coma-girl. Missed out on all the fun and forgetting it wasn't real, so… no trauma. No need for the shrink crap."

Because what she really wanted was to explain to their den mother how she'd seen the Underworld and watched her family kill each other before the Angel of Death, looking alarmingly like Jon the scarecrow, had slowly murdered her.

Yea, that would go over _real_ well.

"You're too tough to need help?" Canary conjectured in what Artemis thought was an extremely patronizing tone.

Annoyed, Artemis huffed, "Whatever…maybe." Maybe she could take a hint.

"Or maybe too tough to admit you need help. Artemis, it's not a sign of weakness to open up to your friends."

Or not.

"I _know_ that," Artemis found herself practically hissing. She _wanted_ to talk to Dick, not sit here and take this. But after his outburst at the manor, Dick was being kind of close-lipped. He'd obviously confronted some of his own horrors in the simulation. It was killing Artemis to not know if any of the others had seen some of the things she'd seen…or gone to the place she'd gone.

"But you still keep secrets from them."

Okay, that was uncalled for, plus _majorly_ beside the point! "You won't tell them! You can't!" It wasn't even that she didn't want to tell her team about her family. It was just the _fear_ of what they might think of her. And she _knew_ Canary knew that as well! What she didn't know was why Canary had to drudge this up.

Canary shook her golden head and raised a hand in a placating gesture. "I won't. But you should. You could start by admitting you're not really Green Arrow's niece."

Was that what all this was about? Did last night take time away from one of their dates or something? Artemis didn't think Canary that petty, not at all. But it was like she was working some angle. "Pffft…right," Artemis said, rolling her eyes as she tried to gage with new perspective the crime-fighting beauty before her. She considered the consequences of telling the team she was the daughter of Sportsmaster and the former Tigris, the sister of Cheshire, and a former understudy in the League of Assassins. She couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled forth as she envisioned Wally's reaction. "Can you imagine what Wally would do with that?" she laughed finally.

Instead of laughing back however, Canary just leaned forward, steepling her fingers like they were finally getting somewhere. "Interesting…so the person you're most worried about is Wally?"

_Oh_. So it was going to be like that, was it?

* * *

><p>Later, when Wally was in the psych ward, Artemis finally got the chance and sat down firmly next to Robin, leaving him no way to escape. Well, plenty of ways, just none of them easy.<p>

Adopting the soothing, patronizing tone Canary had employed, Artemis mimicked, "Want to talk about it?"

But Robin didn't grin, he just leaned forward, hanging his head between his legs. Wearily, sounding so defeated that Artemis found her hand gently rubbing his back in a comforting gesture before she even knew she was doing it, he told her the events that took place in the simulation after her death. How Aqualad had sacrificed himself and how he, Robin, had taken control only to assign Superboy and Kid Flash a death mission.

"But Manhunter said you died too."

"The captain has to go down with the ship. Doesn't mean Wally had to go with me. Or that Conner deserved to be used like a pawn," Dick said bitterly.

"Is that why you're so upset? You think you'll be a bad leader when the time comes?"

Dick raised his head and peered at her closely, frowning. "You think I'm upset because I'm worried about my future leadership potential?" he asked quietly in disbelief.

"No! That's…"

"I'm upset because I couldn't sort out what was real and what wasn't! _I'm upset_ because I was so focused on the mission, so focused on saving the world, that I couldn't feel anymore. I didn't even cry when you died, Artemis. I didn't bat an eye…" At his own little pun, a terrible false mirth bubbled up and he grimly chuckled. "You should have seen how distraught Wally was though. Your death just about killed him."

So that was why Canary had led their therapy session to the land of the speedsters. Wally really did care about her. Artemis now needed to talk to him too, but foremost, she had to get Robin to see that he was being too hard on himself. "But you got 'traught. You kept everyone going. That's an amazing thing," she whispered, trying to comfort him.

He just shook his head. "No, you don't understand. How could you? You were gone." He gently pulled her hand away from where it had come to rest on his back and placed it in her lap like he couldn't stand her touching him. "Artemis, I'm not some unfeeling automaton. I'm not like Bats. But when I watched you disintegrate, I shoved my humanity aside. I let myself become a soulless monster and I destroyed the rest of our team doing what I thought would serve the greater good…the mission."

Artemis flung her arms around his neck and hugged him close. She felt him try to pull away and held on tighter, whispering in his ear, "You know you're not a soulless monster, Dick. Even if you do like math a little too much…"

He finally stopped fighting her hug, his slender frame beginning to shake as he sobbed into her shoulder.


	11. Target 11

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I do not own The New Batman Adventures. I do not own green eggs and ham. I do not own them Sam I…oh wait. Nevermind. I am, however, considering a new religious order that worships Joss Whedon and Bruce Timm, I'll get back to you on that. _

_A/N: 'Secrets' was an extremely odd episode. Since I wasn't really sure what to make of it, I decided to come up with my own Halloween story so this is decidedly AU from that episode. Special thanks to Blu for the very nice, as always, review._

* * *

><p>Zeta travel never failed to amaze Artemis. Having her molecules dispersed and then reintegrated left her feeling tingly all over, like she'd just stepped from a hot shower pink and new. As soon as her senses were back online, she registered that the other zeta pod had just received a passenger as well, Zatanna, looking very natural dressed as a witch. Artemis glanced down at her own rather hastily thrown together costume, a capey fem-Dracula, and sighed.<p>

The cloak had been Jade's for an elementary school production of Red Riding Hood. Lawrence had splurged on his eldest daughter, so proud that she'd gotten the lead. The velvet reverse-sided crimson/jet black cloak had arguably been one of the nicest gifts he'd ever given one of his daughters, Artemis's first and only composite bow being the other.

Regardless of the nightmares and the doubts, deep down, Artemis knew that he still cared; that he was still her dad. And that fact made their opposition so much worse.

Needless to say, Jade had left the cloak behind, having no use for it in her current occupation and Artemis had tentatively decided to fish it out of her sister's closet when M'gann had invited her to the Halloween dance at Happy Harbor High School.

She still hadn't had a chance to discuss the failed simulation with Wally as he was still blatantly avoiding her during their training sessions with Canary. She mentioned it to Robin the last time Batman had them sparring together in the cave and he'd shrugged, just saying to give Wally some more time. She knew Dick was still shaken about the subject himself. After he'd cried, he'd had his own little session of 'let's hide from Artemis because we're embarrassed' but with how much time she now spent with him at school, the cave, and Mount Justice, she'd quickly sorted him out and lately they seemed to be closer than ever.

Zatanna, slightly less abrasive than she'd been on their mission together called out, "Nice costume, Artemis."

Her tone suggested a modicum of sincerity so Artemis put on a neutral smile and greeted back, "Thanks, yours too. I take it you got the same invite from Miss Martian?" It didn't feel right using the familiarity of 'M'gann' with the new girl. She wasn't really one of them, more like a glorified guest or something.

Zatanna shrugged. "Yea, should be fun. I've never been to a costume party before and dad just finally un-grounded me." Together, they walked up to the lycanthropied speedster, the zombie Martian, and the super-cute mummified Kryptonian- adding their own witchy witch and vamped archer to the costumed-costumed heroes. "Very realistic, Miss Martian," Zatanna commented with a small grin and then glanced around in confusion. "Where's Robin? Isn't he coming?"

Conner pulled some of the mummy wrap away from his mouth, his blue eyes poking through the bandages like sapphires. "Kaldur came by about an hour ago and said that he and Robin were called to the League HQ." He frowned, no doubt considering like the rest of them, sans Zatanna, what the discussion of the impromptu meeting was over. "They won't be coming to the dance."

M'gann smoothed some of the lumpy bandages over his hair in a soothing manner and then turned to Artemis and Zatanna, "I just need a few more minutes to finish up with my mummy." Artemis and she exchanged a small grin, Artemis knowing how much Conner and M'gann's relationship had progressed and happy for her friends. "Why don't you guys go wait in the den and help yourself to some of the brownies I just finished?"

At the word 'brownies' Wally blurred and disappeared. Zatanna shot Artemis a rueful smile. "Maybe if I use my magic there will still be some left by the time we get there?"

Artemis, feeling slightly warmer toward the sorceress, just laughed, "Not even magic could save them now."

Their arrival in the kitchen confirmed Artemis's suspicions. Wally was happily licking his fingers and looking extremely hairy in his Werewolf costume.

"Careful you don't spit up a furball," Artemis teased, a smirk forming on her lips and her arms crossing as she leaned back against the counter, her silver tank top exposed beneath the cloak.

Wally ignored her until the last bit of the chocolate was cleaned from his fingers and then casually looked up. "Lycanthropes are members of the canidae species and thus not at risk of disgusting felidae habits. But then it looks like you're a vampire with no fangs so you probably didn't know that."

Artemis gave her best evil smile. "Oh, I've got fangs."

Wally snorted and then coughed a little as the brownies went down the wrong way. "Yea? I wouldn't be surprised if you had some sparkle dust too. Just remember that in some current pop phenomena, a bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire."

Artemis's smirk widened and she scooted a little closer. "You plan on biting me then?"

A strangled whimper was heard before Wally managed to clear his throat. "Umm…"

He glanced nervously at Zatanna, as though seeking assistance, but she just smiled before shaking her head. "Nuh-uh, I'm not getting in the middle of this. Don't attack each other," she said as she started to walk away. "Or do," she added with a wink.

Wally spluttered but Artemis quickly spoke up, "Don't worry about it, wolf-boy. I'm not after your blood," she half-joked before her tone became a little more serious. "In fact, I was hoping we'd have a chance to talk." At his panicked look she went on, "You know, clear the air of all the awkwardness from the sim. I don't want Canary to keep pairing us up in training because she's worried about our relationship."

Incredulous, Wally yelped, "_Our relationship!_?"

Artemis couldn't help the blush that emerged at his implication. "Our _working_ relationship," she clarified.

"Oh," he said, looking slightly crestfallen. His gaze diverted down to the once pristine kitchen floor now strewn with brownie crumbs. He appeared to be examining the patterns that were emerging from them. One happened to resemble Orion's Belt.

Wally looked up from the sugary constellation and met her gaze, his green eyes bright and sorrowful in the low kitchen lighting. Artemis vaguely recalled that she liked green as she stared at them. Wally looked, furry costume choices aside, very cute in that moment.

Wait…_what_? Was that why she had been so determined to talk with him? Did she like Wally as more than a friend?

Well, sometimes she wasn't sure that she even liked him as that. But she couldn't deny, there in the kitchen as they just sort of creepily stared at each other, tongue-tied, that she sometimes felt…a certain spark for him.

This startling revelation compelled Artemis to break the silence. Her heart picking up speed and her cheeks feeling flushed, she quickly asked, "So…want to go have a seat and talk?" She gestured toward the couch and prayed that the hopeful ring registered only to her own ears.

Pained, Wally turned his gaze to the side, causing a surprising chill to run up Artemis's spine. When he spoke, it was soft and measured, "I'm sorry…I can't." And then he was walking back toward the others, leaving her standing breathless and hurt amidst the brownie constellations.

It took Artemis about a minute to collect herself. She wasn't sure if she should feel rejected or confused by his sudden about-face. Boys could be so schizophrenic when it came to this sort of stuff that she tried to reassure herself that his reaction might not have meant what she thought it meant. And even if it did, it wasn't like she had confessed anything.

And really, _was_ there anything to confess?

It still stung though for some unfathomable reason. She slowly pushed off the counter and realized that going to the dance now would be a terrible, frustrating, painful, and altogether awkward idea if he was going to be there.

Quickly making up her mind, she walked back to the others, carefully avoiding Wally who seemed to have no problem doing the same. She stopped before her zombie Martian friend and the now almost completely mummified Conner. They were laughing and teasing each other, heated glances exchanged as she finished wrapping down his left hand. They were so happy and smitten it left Artemis feeling slightly queasy but she pushed the feeling down.

They looked up inquisitively when they finally realized she was hovering. "What is it, Artemis?" M'gann asked, her concern so real that Artemis suddenly felt like hugging the older girl.

"I…umm…I can't go to your dance," she winced, hoping she wouldn't have to lie.

M'gann narrowed her eyes in confusion and tapped her temple. Artemis quickly registered the question and thankfully nodded. M'gann was awesome.

'_What's wrong_?' she mentally asked.

'_Wally and I had a little…altercation_.'

She raised a brow.

'_No! It wasn't like that this time. He wasn't rude. It's just that I really don't want to be around him right now. I'm sorry_.'

M'gann nodded and said aloud, "I understand. Maybe you can come to the next one? I'd love for you to meet my squad."

Artemis grinned, imagining her perky friend and her perky cohorts in their perky bumblebee outfits. "You know you're just inviting merciless cheerleading jokes."

She smiled back and lightly tapped her forehead. "Hello, M'gann! The thought had crossed your…and then my mind."

"You read my mind without permission!"

"I didn't have to be a mind-reader to know what you were thinking," she teased.

Artemis gave in and hugged her friend. "You'll cover for me?" she whispered in her ear.

"Of course."

Artemis pulled back and beamed, "My favorite Martian." She gave a quick goodbye to Conner and said a general 'Sorry, have to run' goodbye to Zatanna and Wally before fleeing to the zeta tube and punching in the Gotham passcode.

In a whoosh of light, Artemis emerged out of the phone box into the deserted Gotham alley a second later, took one look around at her depressingly dingy, lonely surroundings, and decided to beam into the cave for a round on Wayne's obstacle course. She couldn't stand the thought of going home and watching television with her mother. The restlessness would kill her quicker than one of Jade's poison darts. Children wouldn't even be coming around their apartment trick-or-treating since they lived in such a rotten part of town.

Batman had entrusted her with the cave's zeta code, providing that she never beam directly from the mountain to it, so Artemis re-entered the phone booth and tapped it in, the disorienting sensation lasting another second before she stumbled out into the cool darkness of the Batcave, momentarily illuminated by her arrival.

She waited a minute for the multitude of bats to settle, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness before heading over to the training facility's changing area. Just like at the Mountain, she kept a spare change of clothes at the Batcave. She quickly stripped off her Halloween ensemble, carefully folding up the velvet cloak and laying it on top of her other clothing so it wouldn't touch the ground. She next donned a pair of spandex black workout tights, a sturdy sports bra, and an aqua-blue tank. She finished lacing her tennis shoes just as Alfred politely rapped his knuckles on the side of the dressing room.

"Miss Artemis, I presume?" Alfred drolly queried.

She opened the door and stepped out to greet him. "Well, it's certainly not your average neighborhood Caped Crusader."

He glanced at the folded cloak behind her. "Perhaps given time?"

Artemis walked over to the computer station that controlled the obstacle course simulator and shot back over her shoulder, "Not a chance, Alfie."

Alfred archly replied, "Please, allow me," and stepped to her side, punching in a simulation sequence that Artemis hadn't tried before.

"Thanks!" Artemis grinned as she did a few limbering exercises and knelt at the starting position. She nodded to Alfred and he punched the 'START' button.

Immediately, Artemis could tell that the reason she'd never done this course before was because it's difficulty level was about a billion times what she normally tried to survive during Wayne's grueling sessions.

"You did that…" she huffed, leaping to the top of a pole six feet away and landing on the three-inch diameter surface just as the pole she'd been on disappeared back into the ground, "On purpose."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're referring to," Alfred innocuously called from his position below her. The smallest of grins appeared on his face but she was too preoccupied trying not to fall to her death to notice.

She hopped, leapt, sprung, and flipped from one pole to another, losing her balance and having to cling to the pole before being able to haul herself up only twice. Gasping, she glared down at him as the lasers started to fire and she somersaulted onto the mat. "You…know…you're not helping the…evil butler image… any…Eeek!...here!" she managed to pant out in between dodging the stunner beams of red energy. They weren't powerful enough to knock you out but they sure stung.

"In actuality, I seem to recall that it's hardly ever the butler's fault," Alfred said, calmly watching her struggle. "We're rarely nefarious."

Artemis paused, gaping dubiously at him before a laser swiped at her head and she had to literally bend-over backwards to avoid it. Bent-over backwards with the weight on her hands, looking up at him from her inverted view, she raised a brow and sarcastically snapped, "Because that laser that almost decapitated me looked _super_ kid-friendly."

"Master Grayson never complains."

"Well," she replied conversationally as the laser targets began to emerge from the mat to be smacked down again by her feet and fists and she was able to fall into a cadence, "Master _Dick_ probably isn't forced to do the highest setting."

"Oh, there are waaay higher settings," Dick's voice called out and she looked up, surprised to see him standing there with a smirk on his masked face next to the equally smug looking Alfred. Of course, the temporary distraction was all the lasers needed to nail her and immediately she was hit in three different areas.

"Ooomph!" she gasped, the wind knocked from her as she fell hard on her back, the mat only doing so much to cushion.

He helped her to her feet, "Oh, and for the record, Bruce still affirms that the lasers are 'ceptionally safe."

Artemis rubbed her rear where one of them had landed a direct hit. Her tights weren't damaged but she could already feel a welt forming. "That's just because he never gets hit!" she groaned.

"Would the two of you care for a pas de deux course?" Alfred offered, his hands hovering over the computer console.

"I'm not trusting you with that thing anymore, Alfie," Artemis huffed in mock annoyance.

Alfred bowed lowly, "As you wish."

Artemis rolled her eyes and giggled.

Robin looked from one of them to the other, a faint grin on his lips as he shook his head. "I'm not sure who's corrupting whom here, but I want in on it."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Artemis asked, the question sounding ruder than it had inside her head. Plus, Dick _did_ actually live in Wayne Manor, directly above them.

"It wasn't a long meeting," he supplied cryptically.

"So how long did it take for my name to come up as the traitor?" Artemis asked. "Was it a full minute even?"

"Bats and I backed you up. You _know_ you have our trust," he said, sweeping a hand out over the impressive expanse of the Batcave.

She gave a tight-lipped grin. "Thanks for that, but I'm sure that's not everyone's opinion. Was Speedy there? He has it out for me, you know."

"Probably because you keep calling him Speedy," Robin laughed.

Artemis pursed her lips. "Alright, so you can't talk about it. I get it."

"So what are _you_ doing here? I thought everyone was going to the Happy Harbor High Halloween Hoe-down?"

"You just wanted to say that, didn't you?"

"I could say it five-times fast but then your brain would be giga-whelmed."

"That's the whelmed setting where it explodes like an overripe tomato, right?"

"The very same. You can see now why I hold back."

"You're a saint…in leotards."

"And you're doing a pretty poor job of a-voiding my question."

Artemis heaved a sigh. "I…uh…tried to have that talk with Wally and he sort of shot me down."

Robin raised a skeptical brow and cocked his head to the side. "You asked him out or something?"

For the second time that night, Artemis felt herself flushing. "No! Well…no…umm…sort of?" She sighed again and brought a hand to her reddening face in frustration. "I just wanted to talk with him but I think we're developing some kind of weird mutual…" she bit her lip, struggling for the word.

"Attraction?"

She vehemently shook her head.

"Disease?"

"Pfft…" she snorted. "Yea, disease. Let's go with that. Symptoms include paranoia, blockage of words, intense arguments, chronic avoidance, and…"

"The urge of rip each other apart?"

She nodded.

"With or without clothes?"

She stuck her tongue out and reached out to smack him but he lithely twisted away. "So _anyway_," she said, quickly dragging the subject of their conversation away from her conflicted thoughts of Wally, "Is Wayne going to be back soon? I actually wouldn't mind a seriously intense session right now."

"Hmm…if '_distracted_' means occupied with something or someone else, then does that mean that when you're '_attracted,_' you're occupied with yourself?"

"No, that's egotistical."

"Oh, well then you're definitely attracted to Wally," he replied with a grin. She tried smacking him again but he caught her hand, the smile never leaving his face and continued, "But I'm dis-tracted by you, so…no. The Bats is out for the evening. Halloween is one of his favorite nights to strike terror into Gotham's hoods and he enjoys trick-or-treating them alone. I was going to head to the Academy's Fall Social to keep Bab's company. Come with me?"

A light feeling, like the one rendered from endorphins after running a mile, assailed Artemis, traveling up her stomach and causing her palms to tingle. She smiled, almost against her will at Dick's infectious attitude. "Just let me grab my cape."

* * *

><p>It turned out that the Fall Social was actually more of a social than a costume party- <em>go figure<em>- except that everyone wore some sort of mask. So when Artemis arrived in the elaborately decorated Academy Gym behind Dick, who actually looked pretty suave in a fitted tux complete with bowtie and cuffs- he claimed he was going as _007_- she was horrified to find the rest of the girls wearing gowns and most of the other boys in tuxes like Dick, although a few were in their GA uniforms. Most of the students had elaborate Venetian masquerade ball masks, but a few of them wore more motley Mardi-Gras toned. Only a few kids were maskless, but like Dick, they were dressed so exquisitely that it hardly mattered.

All eyes seemed to fall on her Dracula cape, the blood-smeared cherry make-up that dribbled artfully from the corner of her lips, her theatrically purpled lids, the glittering silver tank, and her skin-tight black leather pants and heels. She looked very distinctly out of place.

She tried to hide herself behind Dick but he was useless. "Come on," he grinned, putting his arm around her waist and steering her toward a waving Barbara Gordon wearing a gorgeous emerald gown with black lace. She had a matching masquerade eye mask inlaid with emerald bobbles that accentuated her eyes. She had saved them a table, which was a good thing considering the whole school had been invited. "They were bound to stare anyway, now at least they have a good excuse."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean!" she hissed under her breath as she tried to avoid looking embarrassed with seemingly all eyes on them.

He turned his head to her and smirked. "I'll let you figure that out."

"I take it you didn't read the part where it said this was a masquerade social?" Barbara giggled at Artemis when they finally reached her.

Artemis narrowed her eyes at Barbara, quickly silencing her mirth and then leveled a death-beam glare at Dick. "Must have slipped my mind," she ground out between clenched teeth.

Dick just shrugged. "Well, the posters have only been up for this for about…three weeks. So…while blaming me is always hi-larious, I think you need to assign blame more diplomatically." He brought up a finger to his chin and puzzled, "Or would that be more judiciously?"

While Dick's mind was otherwise preoccupied by whatever terrifying thoughts dwelt there, Artemis very carefully untied her cloak and hung it on the back of her chair before she sat down next to Barbara.

"How come you two arrived together?" the redhead asked with just a hint of suspicion.

"Alfred gave me a lift here," Artemis explained, not exactly lying.

"Oh," Barbara said, and then quickly changed the subject, "So, on a scale of sub-zero to amazing, what do you rank our DJ?"

Artemis listened to the classical piping, watching the students shuffling through the waltz or some equally horrendous drivel, and then grimaced. "I think they're taking the theme a little too far."

Dick walked up in front of them, a wicked grin plastered on his face. He held out a hand to Barbara and leaned down gallantly, throwing a wink to Artemis before asking the Commissioner's daughter, "Wanna expand my polynomial, Babs?"

"Being a little obtuse there?" Artemis quipped, smirking as Barbara laughed and accepted his proffered hand.

His grin widened ever more impossibly at her. "You know, Artemis. You're a very acute girl." He started to lead Barbara onto the dance floor but called over his shoulder, "Save the last dance for me, je vais vous montrer mes mouvements géométrie."

"Ha!" Artemis laughed before shaking her head as she watched them cut across the dance floor. It didn't surprise her that Dick could dance, and dance quite well.

So intent was she on watching the pair, that she didn't notice the scream. But suddenly the music stopped and everyone could hear the blood-curdling sound, decidedly female, coming from the second-story open hallway that overlooked the courtyard where everyone normally ate their lunch.

Students streamed out of the gym in their finery, curious to find the source. Artemis followed the crowd, catching up with Barbara and Dick right as the students in front of them began gasping and covering their faces. Cries and sobs of disbelief were heard ahead as more students saw what had caused the tormented scream.

Finally, a hole appeared in the crowd and Dick shoved his way through, Artemis and Barbara in his wake.

The sight that greeted her made her wish she'd stayed back.

A girl lay flat on the concrete courtyard near the fountain, her silky brown hair fanned out around her head in a halo, soaking in the pool of blood that was quickly growing beneath her. Her hands, locked in their last movement, clutched the glossy fabric of her navy-blue dress at her navel. Her eyes were wide and terrified beneath a diamond-studded masquerade mask.

"She fell from up there! I saw it!" A pale-faced boy cried, pointing up toward the second-story hallway. Artemis recognized him as Edward from her French class as he ripped off his Phantom of the Opera mask.

The blonde President girl, Bette, Artemis hazily recalled, spoke up, "I saw it too, she just…grabbed her stomach and fell over the barrier."

Dick ran up to the girl, checking for a pulse. He shook his head at the mob, and then his gaze traveled to her clenched hands. He carefully pried them from her stomach, revealing absolutely nothing but the shimmering bunched fabric of the girl's expensive dress. There was no wound, no blood there.

Artemis spun around, scanning the masked crowd around her, her eyes flashing back and forth as she began walking and then running around investigating people, desperate for one figure.

She found him leaning against a column by the school's gate, his tall, willowy frame in a flawless black tuxedo with black gloves covering his long, slender fingers. The strangest of masks adorned his head. It was made of tightly woven burlap and fit very snugly over the angular features of his face. There were no eye-slits but a deep black cross-patterned the front, suggesting that somewhere deep within, his icy blue eyes were watching everything.

Beside him in the shadows, a woman stood with her arms folded, one hip jutting out. She wore a stunning satin kimono with devilish looking high heels. She too was wearing a mask.

It was the Cheshire cat.

_A/N: A huge thanks to ALL of my reviewers. I absolutely adore hearing from you guys. Those that have been reviewing every chapter- you guys totally whelm me. _


	12. Target 12

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I do not own Alice in Wonderland. I do not own my own social networking website. I do not own Candy Land. I do not own the song, Sleepwalk._

_A/N: Okay, this one is rather long…I couldn't seem to stop myself. Certain Dialogue is directly taken from BtVS's season two episode, "I Only Have Eyes For You." R & R please. _

The city air was bathed in a thick haze, wane light reflecting from the Hunter's Moon high above. Jade's Cheshire mask was tinted a dull red from its glow and Artemis briefly wondered whether her sister remembered the significance of the October moon.

Their father had taught them the farmer's almanac lunar cycles during their training, of how October's was known as _The Hunter_ because Native Americans had found it easier to hunt at night during this time of the year because of how bright the moon was. The red light it sometimes gave off also represented the blood of the animals killed for necessity.

The girl's blood staining the courtyard behind Artemis hadn't been for necessity.

With her teeth bared, eyes transfixed on the nightmarish version of her sister and former friend, Artemis stood poised in _her_ moonlight and prepared to launch herself at them, weapons be damned. She took off in a dead run, the low heels of her outfit barely hampering her and for the first time that night, thankful that Dick hadn't reminded her that Gotham Academy's fall social was a formal event.

But not even halfway to the imposing marble gates, Jade easily spotted her little sister's breakneck approach. She gave a flippant two-fingered salute before setting off a smokescreen. The last thing Artemis could see before the wispy darkness swallowed them was Jon's scarecrow burlap mask nodding a patronizing farewell and a mocking bow. She knew it was useless but rushed into the vapors anyway, her hands outstretched- groping, waving, slashing the air angrily as though imagining every strike might land on her betrayers- but when the smoke finally cleared, they were, of course gone.

Was Artemis doomed to remain Alice, forever lost in a Wonderland that more often of late resembled hell?

Teeth clenched, she took another second to scan the area before hearing the wail of approaching sirens. She quickly jogged back to the courtyard where most of the students were now gathered, milling around in various stages of grief and disbelief. She noticed that Dick's coat had been laid over the dead girl's face. He was grimly standing off to the side next to Barbara, his blue eyes alternating between the corpse and the crowd.

Four police cars, an ambulance, and an ordinary brown sedan with a lone siren arrived a minute later, their bright lights flooding the moonlit courtyard in abrasive shades of blue and red. Paramedics leapt out of the ambulance and quickly darted to the girl- tubes, kits, and an array of medical equipment dangling from their arms- but Artemis looked away from them, knowing they were too late. They had been too late from the moment the girl fell from the second story hallway and her skull bashed the fountain.

Out of the sedan came solemn Commissioner Gordon- dark, graying hair, square spectacles, and bushy mustache. He took in the scene with the worried expression only a parent could manage before his eyes alighted on his daughter as she rushed through the crowd toward him. They met in a fierce hug and she said something to him before he nodded and they pulled away.

The eight policemen he'd brought with him were busy taping the crime scene and soothing sobbing students. The Commissioner brought a megaphone to his mouth, "Your parents will be arriving soon. For now, we request that everyone go back inside the gym."

Just then, four additional squad cars arrived, as well as a detective's car with a lone siren like the Commissioner's. The reinforcements immediately set to work assisting the other cops in gently shepherding the students toward the gymnasium. Dick caught sight of her as he was being directed into the mob and their eyes met briefly.

They exchanged a nod- the smallest trace of acknowledgment- but it was all it took to calm Artemis.

She recognized both detectives as they exited their vehicle. One was the large and largely well-known Harvey Bullock, scowling as always. The other was a tall female detective in her early thirties with reddish-brown hair fastened in a sharp ponytail, wearing a clipped, black leather jacket and an impassive frown on her face. Artemis fought the sea of students as she made her way towards the pair but Barbara was closer.

"Romy!" Barbara greeted warmly before giving the stern-looking woman an enormous hug.

Harvey looked on, his scowl twitching for a moment at the expense of a small grin for the Commissioner's daughter. "Sure, just ignore me," he muttered good-naturedly before ruffling her hair and moving off toward the crime-scene. Barbara stuck her tongue out at his retreating backside but Artemis had no doubt that the affection was mutual. Harvey Bullock was one of the few detectives that had been retained by Commissioner Gordon and for all his surliness, the big guy was a softy at heart.

The woman's cool detective façade crumbled and her features softened as she hugged the teenager back. "I'm glad you're alright, Barbara," she mumbled embarrassedly as Artemis came up to the pair. The detective spotted her and quickly released Barbara, her impassive but polite mask returning. She nodded a greeting, "Artemis."

Artemis evenly nodded back. "Hello, Detective Chandler. How's my case doing?"

The Detective sighed like they'd been over this before. "I'm sorry, Artemis, it's an ongoing investigation."

Artemis didn't blink. "And according to the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, which I consider myself a bruise-carrying member, you're bound to keep me informed." So far, Jon had been walking the hallways, happy as you please, as though Artemis hadn't even gone to the police and told them what he'd done to her. She wasn't sure if they'd told him to stay away from her or if he was just doing that on his own, but the two of them hadn't spoken since the incident. Tonight had been the first time they'd even really looked at each other, and he'd been wearing that spooky burlap mask.

She hadn't mentioned to the police the hallucination of her father and sister and she'd affirmed that she hadn't been raped, but she'd told them how he'd drugged her and left her in an alley with no clothing, bruised and with the acidic, unsavory certainty that she'd been violated.

Artemis couldn't stand mirrors or sprite anymore- the former because she could no longer stand to see herself and the latter tasting like lemon fear. She knew there were other, deeper feelings associated with the experience, but mirrors and sprite were tangible things Jon had made sure she would never be able to enjoy again. And the police didn't even seem to care.

The detective pursed her lips as if she were reading Artemis's thoughts and was about to respond when one of the cops, a pretty Hispanic female officer, called for her.

"I'm coming Montoya!" Detective Chandler yelled back before telling Artemis, not unkindly, "Come by the station tomorrow, I'll make time to see you around four and we can talk about this, deal?"

Artemis sighed and reluctantly nodded. Romy Chandler wasn't a bad person, she was actually one of the best detectives on the Force. She just happened to work for a system that had too much going on with too few straight cops left after the Commissioner's weeding. If Gotham didn't have the Caped Crusader, well…

Barbara and Artemis bid the detective goodbye and were ushered into the gym with the last few stragglers that had been lingering or too traumatized to move on their own. One of the dead girl's friends had been half-carried in by two policemen. The first parents were beginning to show up but for the most part, it was just a dozen cops, the four teacher chaperones- including Mr. Rebmun, though how the older math teacher had been roped into chaperoning the dance was anyone's guess- and nearly a hundred or so frightened and excited teenagers.

The gym's beautiful decorations Bette and her council had worked tirelessly on- the dark blue wall paper, black and white streamers, giant eye mask posters of every color and fashion, and the tiny tables decorated with rich green cloth and white and black rose arrangements- all felt wrong now. The black roses seemed everywhere, the dark blue walls flaked disparagingly, and the eye masks glared down suspiciously.

Dick found them quickly and led them toward a somewhat deserted corner of the gym. Artemis glanced wearily at Barbara, but deciding it didn't matter much, informed them both, "I saw Cheshire and…I think Jon, in some sort of urbane scarecrow costume. I ran to go check it out but they disappeared."

Barbara looked aghast. "You shouldn't have gone after them on your own! What were you thinking!"

Robin raised a brow, processing the information and ignoring Barbara's outburst. "What would they be doing here?"

"Not entirely sure but I assume it has something to do with that girl's mysterious fall," Artemis murmured darkly.

"Hold that thought," Barbara ran over to the table they'd been sitting at only a few minutes ago; it felt like ages now when everyone had been so happy and laughing.

Dick leaned toward Artemis and whispered, "So now we know for sure he's somehow working with the League."

She gave an imperceptive nod just as Barbara was coming back with her book bag- she didn't go anywhere without that thing- and pulled out her trusty laptop, firing it up. Her fingers flying over the keys, she starting muttering, "Okay, so Cheshire and Jonathan Crane kill a girl at Gotham Academy…let's find out first who she was."

Artemis shot Dick a look. He grinned and shrugged helplessly, both of them adjusting so that all three of them were crowded around Barbara's monitor, the redhead seated between them, feverishly scanning the screen. "Alright, I'm looking through the Academy's _C_haracter_N_et page…there! She's the one on the bottom right of the cheerleader pyramid. Her name is…" she clicked on the tagged name and the girl's profile page came up, her smile bright and full of life. Artemis bit her lip as she remembered the sad sight of the girl's limp body, the back of her skull crushed in. "…Stephanie Brown. Says here that she likes pop music, rom-coms, and mystery books…her favorite activities include hanging with her friends and…_doing puzzles_?" Skeptical, Barbara turned to Dick. "She hardly seems like the type to get involved with someone like Cheshire, and I don't think I've ever seen her hang around Jonathan."

Dick nodded slowly. "As far as I can recall, she mostly traveled within the squad's circle, occasionally hanging out with Damian and his team." Damian was the quarterback of the Academy's football team, and of course the squad shared close relations with him and his cronies. Back at Artemis's old school, where her football team had been the laughing stock of the district, the cheerleaders tended to date the more popular basketball players, but all was right with the world at GA where their football team did more than admirably in their smaller private league.

"What if they were looking for something here at the school and she just happened to be in the way?" Artemis suggested after a moment.

Barbara nodded thoughtfully. "Alright," she said as she began typing again, "I'll run a general search and see if there's anything valuable at the Academy tonight." Dick and Artemis leaned in close to Barbara, their three faces nearly touching as they quickly scanned the search results.

Dick leaned back and shook his head. "All of this is for the Fall Social."

Disappointed, Artemis was about to pull away also when Barbara cried, "Wait! I think I've got something!" She clicked on one of the news articles associated with the school and a file titled, '_The Tragic Tale of Miss Trinity Kate'_ loaded.

Entering the gym at that moment, Detective Bullock interrupted what Barbara was about to tell them about the aged, melodramatic news story. "Okay students!" He hollered, his big paunch jostling slightly, "Sorry to have to do this right now, but we're going to need to question everyone before you can leave. We'll try to do this quickly but we need your cooperation. Your parents, are, of course, allowed to come in and wait with you. As soon as you've been questioned and cleared by myself or another officer, you're free to go."

Another dozen officers materialized behind the detective, and they and the existing officers who'd been calming and directing parents along with the teachers, began interviewing students with pads and pencils in hand.

Barbara called their attention back to the article. "She was murdered right here in the school on Halloween night, 1951. Gotham Academy was still known in those days as Gotham Preparatory, an all-boys school."

"She was a faculty member?" Dick guessed, his eyes focused on the milling cops.

"Yes, she taught literature." Barbara scrolled down the article. "It says that she was very well respected by the students and the rest of the staff. She was murdered, late at night- probably working on lesson plans the writer guesses, but who really knows- with a gunshot to the stomach and was found…" Barbara gaped slightly before she slowly finished, "…in the courtyard."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please_. You don't seriously think…"

Barbara glared at the blonde. "I didn't say it. It's just a big coincidence is all."

"Maybe," Dick murmured as he regarded the article thoughtfully for a moment, a finger at his temple. "But coincidences tend to throw the prior probabilities out the window…" he pointed to the bottom of the story, "It says her murderer was found the next day after they searched the school- a student by the name of Tommy Cassidy. He committed suicide in the boiler room. If we're talking paranormal activity, it's a pretty closed case."

"And ghosts are only allowed to haunt when their murders haven't been solved?" Barbara asked sarcastically.

Dick shrugged, "That's what my film history tells me."

"What about when they're just angry spirits looking for some mischief?" Artemis grinned.

"Then they're considered poltergeists and really not very nice at all," Dick answered, matching her grin.

Barbara looked back and forth between the two of them and sighed. "You two make fun all you like, but Tommy killed his teacher in cold blood. It probably wasn't because she gave him a bad essay grade."

"A twisted love gone bad, illicit teacher-student affair tragedy?" Artemis hazarded with a raised brow. "Weren't kids all about the malt shops and hoola hoops in the fifties?"

Dick shook his head, smirking, "More likely, the student had been showing off daddy's gun at school, went back late to pick it up, got surprised, went trigger happy, accidentally killed his English teacher, and then shot himself out of guilt."

Not amused by their antics, Barbara ignored them and ran another search. "You two are so cynical! It's Halloween, can't you try to believe, just for tonight, that there might be things beyond our understanding out there? While we're locked in here, trying _not_ to think about a girl our own age, who was just brutally killed where we eat lunch every day?"

Looking slightly remorseful, Dick began, "Hey Babs…it's okay. I do believe there are things out there that…others might not understand… but…"

"Oh!" Barbara exclaimed, interrupting his terrible attempt at an apology- which Artemis didn't really see what he had to apologize for in the first place- "Argue that!" she told them triumphantly, pointing to her screen.

She had two new articles loaded side by side. One was from October 31st 1971, the other from October 31st 1991. It didn't take much scanning to read what Barbara was so excited about.

A female and male student had died on each of those nights, right at good, old Gotham Academy.

Artemis bit her lip. This really was starting to look creepy. "But what about Jon and Cheshire?" she asked, almost plaintively. Nothing was making sense.

Barbara opened her mouth but Detective Bullock called her out for her turn. She stood and turned to Dick and Artemis before heading over to him and whispered, "I'm going to tell him what you saw, Artemis. And I might mention the ghost thing. They at least need to know about the coincidence."

Once she was safely out of earshot, Artemis turned to Dick and glanced at the screen before arching a brow.

"I agree," he said with a slight smirk. "What a crazy- random- happenstance."

She snorted. "You think they're using it as a cover? Hoping some clever reporter will stumble onto this tomorrow or something?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing. "The thought had occurred to me," he said dryly. He frowned. "If we… just had a way of getting a blood sample from…"

"Stephanie," Artemis supplied quietly.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before running a hand through his hair, his carefully gelled locks beginning to tumble. He opened his eyes again, their expression lost and sad. He began undoing his bowtie, his gaze downcast. "We'd know if it was the same poison he gave you, the blue poppy."

"You think _I_ was the target?" She asked, knowing this wasn't the case, as Jade- while being more than willing to incapacitate Artemis in pursuit of one of her goals- would never actually go out of her way to cause Artemis harm.

Or maybe she would, as Artemis secretly found herself fearing more and more with recent misadventures and hallucinations.

_Wait…_

Dick bit his tongue before slowly replying, "No, I don't think you were…"

"The hallucinations!" Artemis suddenly blurted, "That's why there was no blood at her stomach! She only feared there was, as a result of the toxin he must have somehow hit her with. Her mind must have convinced her that she'd been shot, just like I'd been convinced that I'd been…" she trailed off, not needing or desiring to say the word.

He quickly nodded. "But we're still no closer to figuring out what the League was up to here, and if it was a cover, then there might be another victim, probably male, lying somewhere. Probably in wherever used to be the old boiler room."

Artemis sighed. "I don't know…" she said finally.

"You, blonde girl!" Detective Bullock called out to whom Artemis could only assume was herself. Barbara was walking back toward them now. The detective was probably interviewing them because of Barbara and Dick's privileged parentage. Artemis was just caught in the crossfire of inner police politics.

"Wait," Dick quietly told her, his hand lightly catching her wrist before she could rise. He pointed at something on the screen and dragged her closer to the monitor, so their faces were hidden from the detective and Barbara behind it. "Bullock is lead detective on finding Gotham vigilantes. Kind of his personal hobby. Just a head's up that you might want to do something about that, _blonde girl_." He let go of her wrist, a wry grin lighting the serious look he'd had only a moment before.

She nodded and made her way toward the detective.

"So what's your name, princess?" he asked, not even bothering to look at her over his notepad.

Artemis huffed but bit back her retort. "Artemis Crock," she stated clearly, though internally she was wincing at her superheroine name choices. Really, it was great mythology and all, but did she have to pick the same name for her spandex escapades?

"Miss Gordon tells me you saw…"

For a second time that night, a scream rang from Gotham Academy's courtyard.

Bullock took off immediately, most of the other cops following. In the confusion as parents and students began to panic, Artemis caught Dick and Barbara's eyes. Instantly, they were by her side. Another ten seconds and they were out of the gym sprinting toward the courtyard.

Like with Stephanie's death, there was a lot of commotion as police rushed and gathered around the prone figure lying beside the fountain in almost the exact same location the cheerleader had been. However, this woman was older, wearing a leather jacket with her reddish-brown hair drawn back in a sharp ponytail. There wasn't a trace of blood to be seen, but her neck was twisted at such an odd angle that no one was surprised when Officer Montoya bleakly announced there wasn't a pulse.

Barbara reeled in horror, her face turning ashen as she spun her back to the scene, her knees buckling. Dick caught her and she clung to him as sobs racked her thin frame. Artemis awkwardly patted the girl's shoulder, desperately wishing she could somehow provide more comfort. The Commissioner marched grimly past them, did a double take, and then went to investigate Detective Romy Chandler's death, firmly ordering Montoya to escort the three of them back to the gym to wait.

Dick and Artemis kept exchanging glances over Barbara's red hair as they half-carried her back to the gym beside Montoya.

Artemis wasn't a Martian mind reader, but she had a pretty good idea what Dick was trying to say.

_We need to get out of here and investigate. _

The only problem was that Montoya was going to babysit them now like a hawk and there were another ten policemen still in the gym that were now a little more alert since it appeared the killer wasn't as gone as everyone had assumed.

As gently as they could, they propped up Barbara against the wall. She had calmed a little but now looked slightly catatonic with her head drooping forward, her flaming hair covering her eyes.

Dick kneeled before her and tenderly tucked the loose strands behind her ears, soothing, "Eeeasy, Babs…easy…shhh…"

Artemis felt a pang watching him. It was like she was receiving her very first composite bow all over again, like she felt when Wayne and Oliver turned her life around and she realized she wasn't going to have to follow in her family's footsteps. It was wonder and amazement.

Her stare broke off as Barbara softly whispered, "Romy's…_oh God_…" a sob escaped her but she quieted herself this time and went on, "She…was…like a mother to me after my own died. She took me ice-skating for my last birthday…" her voice trailed off and Dick, conflicted between responsibilities, finally caved and, glancing apologetically at Artemis, sank down against the wall beside her. He wrapped his arm around her trembling shoulders and she gratefully sank into his side, her face looking as haunted as Artemis imagined her own would be if something happened to Paula.

_Guess I'm on my own_, Artemis thought glumly as she nodded her understanding to him.

She turned to Montoya, who was looking very distraught herself. "I'm just going to go get her some water, I'll be right back," Artemis said. Montoya regarded her for about two seconds and then gave a curt nod.

Artemis walked off in the direction of the locker rooms, where the nearest fountains were located. She began running the moment the door closed behind her and wound her way through the catacomb of showers, benches, and stalls that made up the girl's locker room at GA. She found the backdoor firmly shut but had no difficulties shimmying the lock just like her dad taught her. He'd be _so_ proud. Hopefully he was far away though… she shuddered at the other possibility.

She kept to the shadows, using a drain pipe to scurry up to the second story like a monkey- not exactly like Wayne had shown her, but it worked just as well on his obstacle course. She kept low and slid toward the courtyard, noticing as she came nearer that there were cops crawling around everywhere with flashlights.

She decided to make it into a game of 'let's hide from the cops and practice my cool new ninja moves as I try to catch Jade and Jon before they can kill anymore people I might know.' It wasn't exactly like 'Candy Land.'

It turns out that Wayne's training really was improving her stealth. She'd never before taken such pains in the way her foot fell or the rhythm of her breathing as she did now. With the red glow of the Hunter's Moon as her only light, Artemis prowled through the shadows behind officers, looking deeply into each and every classroom, hallway, janitor's closet, and hidden mouse hole the old campus had available, until she was satisfied beyond all doubt that Jade and Jon really had left this time. By the time she was creeping back toward the courtyard on her way to the gym, a few of the squad cars were dispersing and she could see that parents were being allowed to take their students home.

She snuck back through the girl's locker room, doing her best to lock it behind her, grabbed a paper cup, filled it from the fountain, and headed back into the gym with a blank look on her face.

Montoya was all over her like a moth to a flame before she could even open her mouth.

"Just what, _exactly_, causes a trip to the water fountain to take forty-five minutes?" the officer said through gritted teeth.

Artemis sighed and dramatically slapped her forehead, adapting the faintest prep twang. "_That long_! I'm so sorry! I realized when I was in the locker room that I'd dropped my phone out in the courtyard- I, uh…usually find myself texting in the there so it was just a habit to think about it, but please don't tell my coach I said that! Anyway, so _like_ I couldn't help myself. I mean, my mother is crippled, what if she found out what happened and couldn't get a hold of me? So I just had to go back and find it. The policemen there were totally nice. You don't even have to worry about it." She dug her cell out, safely tucked in her pocket as it had always been, and waved it happily before the now scowling officer. "See, not a scratch!"

Montoya, fuming, had to bite her lip to keep from screaming at the ditzy girl before her. Internally, Artemis awarded her acting skills with an imaginary Oscar. Outwardly, she continued to radiate joy at the reunion with her cellphone. Finally, Montoya was able to ground out, "Go. Sit."

Two words…this cop had more patience than Artemis would of. She trotted over to the wall and slid down next to Dick. Barbara was now asleep at his other side.

She handed the cup over to him and he set it before Barbara. Artemis used the pretense as a means to whisper, "They've either formed a working relationship with Barbara's ghosts or they're definitely gone."

He nodded and leaned his head back wearily against the wall. They waited another fifteen minutes as almost all of the other students were picked up by their parents or left in their own rides before the Commissioner entered the gym and came over to them. Dick gave an empty grin. "Good evening, Commissioner Gordan."

Gordan nodded back and knelt down to wake his daughter. "Barbara," he whispered softly. "I'm going to take you home now."

She came to a second later, at first confused, but then seeming to recall everything and having to bite down the sobs again. She gave a jerky nod and her father helped her up. She looked down at Dick, her eyes flashing to Artemis briefly before settling on him. "Thanks…for…"

Dick smiled, and Artemis was astounded at how natural it looked. "No sweat Babs…I'll see you soon."

Her father thanked them both and led her out. Alfred entered just as they were leaving, exchanging a brief greeting with the Commissioner and Barbara before he came up to Dick, Artemis, and a very relieved looking Officer Montoya.

No doubt babysitting teens was not on her Christmas list. "They're all yours, see that you keep an eye on the blonde one," Montoya said, already halfway gone.

Alfred watched her go, slightly bemused before he turned expectantly to Dick. "Will you be needing a change of wardrobe?"

Dick slowly rose to his feet, his neck popping as he rolled it a few times. He shook his head. "Negative. Thanks though, Alfred. I think it's past time to call this party quits. How come Bruce didn't pick up any of my calls?"

They started heading for the limo as Alfred answered, "Master Wayne was occupied with a…harmful takeover in Happy Harbor."

Artemis and Dick immediately stiffened but Alfred quickly assured them, "No fear. He's successfully dispatched his…competition and will likely arrive back at the Manor before we do, not that driving you home is any inconvenience Miss Artemis."

"Pfft…you know you like my company, Alfie," Artemis teased with a wave of her hand.

"Mm, indeed. The treasure of are jaunts together leave me quite thankful."

Artemis blinked. "Thankful?"

"You've quite cured me of the lingering feeling of remorse I'd felt at never having had a daughter."

Artemis glared and folder her arms at the butler before she saw the tiniest of grins at the corner of his lips. It was Alfred's way of smiling.

"Any clue why the rest of the team weren't picking up either?" Dick asked Alfred as he opened the limo's rear door for them.

Alfred looked confused for a moment and then said, "Ah yes, apparently there was a small-scale alien invasion at the Happy Harbor High Dance."

Dick and Artemis both snorted. "Any casualties?" Artemis asked sarcastically as she prepared to slide in next to the boy wonder on the leather seat, but then a breeze of cool air nipped at her bare arms and she realized with a panic that she'd forgotten her cloak, or rather Jade's cloak, back in the gym on the chair where she'd folded it. "I left my cloak in the gym, I'll be right back!" she told them before dashing away.

She heard Robin assuring Alfred that she'd already cleared the school. Lightning, like her sister, rarely struck thrice.

The lights had already been turned off but she managed to find one of the side doors still open. She slipped inside, the moonlight filtering in from the high windows guiding her back to the table that they'd sat at when first arriving at the formal. Her cloak was there, right where she'd left it.

Relieved, Artemis reached out to grasp it but then collapsed to the ground, a tidal wave of cold energy crashing over her. Her heart thumping, she tried to jump up, see what had attacked her, but found that she could no more jump up than she could wiggle her pinky. Her entire body was unresponsive.

To Artemis that was. Whatever had done this to her was now in control, its presence inside her overwhelming like the ocean, its thoughts murky and deep. She wasn't even a passenger in her own body anymore, she realized helplessly in panic, mentally screaming and struggling with everything she had. Her efforts to no avail, she finally sunk into the recesses of her unconsciousness. She was a prisoner.

The presence wandered through the familiar hallways in her body, stopping before Mr. Rebmun's classroom. It reached out her hand and opened the door with a soft 'click,' entering her math class and coming to rest beside the teacher's desk. It stood there for a minute, unmoving, before it tentatively ran her fingers over the wood grain surface, tracing the corners with delicate care.

Then Dick was at the doorway looking out of breath, which was a rare sight. He'd changed from his crisp, white tuxedo shirt to his green hoodie but still wore his dress pants.

Artemis rattled her mental cage for a moment, trying to call out a warning to him before she remembered that she couldn't, and fell back into the pressing cocoon of her mind.

Without facing him, it opened her mouth, saying softly, "You're the only one. The only person I can talk to."

Robin raised a brow. "Umm…You okay, Artemis? I saw you heading this way after you left the gym, what's going on?"

It continued, speaking through Artemis's voice with a ringing tinge of desperation, "You can't make me disappear just because you say it's over." It turned her face to him and Dick's mouth opened in confusion.

"I'm…_not_," he murmured, concern filling his eyes as he carefully approached her. "What brought all of this on?" He was about four feet from her when the shift occurred. Suddenly, his normally brilliant blue eyes were hazy, his brow that had been wrinkled in confusion a moment before was now awash with sadness and longing. When he spoke it was a desperate plea, "I just want you to be able to have some kind of normal life. We can never have that- don't you see?"

The presence inside Artemis went mad at his words, lashing out. "I don't give a damn about a normal life!" Then its energy seemed to crumble inside Artemis and she could actually feel the despair, "I'm going crazy not being with you. I think about you every minute."

He obviously felt the same but he pushed it down. In a forced calm, he said, "I know. But…" his voice broke. Painfully, he went on, "It's over. It has to be." Then he turned from Artemis and started toward the door.

This enraged the thing inside her and, in her voice, it screamed, "Come back here! We're not finished!" It grabbed his arm with Artemis's hand, stopping him and roughly spinning him around to face her. "You don't care anymore? Is that it?"

Dick looked defeated and unbearably sad. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I feel…"

The presence was livid. It made Artemis shake Dick's arm, hard. "Then tell me you don't love me. Say it!"

He began to cry. "Will that help? Is that what you have to hear?" Tearfully, he jerked his arm in her grasp. "I don't. I don't. Now let me go!" Finally he was free and quickly fled from the classroom.

_It_ was devastated, disbelieving. The flame that had suddenly swelled to such a roar inside her only a moment ago, now ebbed back leaving a vacuum and Artemis was able to finally envision what only the presence had been seeing all along:

_In Artemis's body was a young man, around seventeen with brown hair and sad brown eyes. He was in love with the beautiful older woman now fleeing from him inside Dick's body. From the pocket of his 1950's style letterman that he wore, he pulled out a gun. _

The images melted away, and once more, Artemis saw Dick's fleeing form before her, her own outstretched hand, fingers arranged as if holding the imaginary weapon, before her as the presence willed her legs to follow him.

She cornered him by the second-story barrier overlooking the courtyard, just as Artemis knew she would. Even as it willed her voice to speak, "No…A person doesn't just wake up one day and stop loving somebody." She began thrashing wildly in her cocoon, the bars of her cage bending inward and then outward in her maelstrom. It made her raise her imaginary gun hand and Artemis began to cry, her frustration so immense that the presence felt a tremble in its grip on the weapon.

Dick's eyes widened in terror as he looked down the end of her imagined gun.

"Love is forever," Artemis heard her voice whisper as the trembling in her hand worsened with every thrash she gave.

Now thoroughly terrified, he carefully began to say, "…just, calm down," his voice soothing like it had been when he'd comforted Barbara. Suddenly, her hold over the imaginary- but now actually looking very substantial- weapon dissolved and Artemis was once more the prisoner looking on as Dick whispered imploringly, "Give me the gun."

It screamed once again through her voice, "DON'T! Don't do that, damn it!" and angrily it swung the gun around. "Don't talk to me like I'm some dumb…" an involuntary twitch of the finger and – BOOM!

The imaginary gun, feeling and sounding extremely real, had gone off in her hand. Her body jumped with surprise at the blast even as her mind fell to pieces. Horrified with itself, the presence regarded the gun in her hand like an alien appendage.

Dick's eyes widened as he clutched his stomach. Looking up at her, disbelief etched across his features a moment before he toppled over the barrier.

Silent, inside and out, except for her terrified, raspy breathing, _it_ turned and re-entered the school on her numb legs. As it descended the stairs and headed toward her Chemistry classroom, sobs began to rack Artemis's body and she gratefully clung to them like a drowning man to a life preserver.

Her phone went off, and somewhere deep inside, Artemis knew that it was Alfred calling because the ringtone was the ridiculous Santo and Johnny's '59 '_Sleepwalk_' with its crooning electric guitar sobbing away that Alfred suggested she use for him because he "just loved instrumentals."

_It_ disregarded her phone, letting the sad, raw tune echo through the deserted hall before slipping inside the chemistry room. It leaned on her arms for a few beats of the song, and then slowly raised her hand, holding the very real gun, to her temple.

Artemis felt her finger on the trigger, but could no longer summon the resistance to fight.

Suddenly, she felt a hand cover hers, and _it_ stilled, awed as Dick's image came into focus through the tears it didn't know her eyes had leaked.

He was staring intently at her, so intently. He gently took the gun away from her and said, "Don't do this."

_It_ spoke up finally, Artemis's voice so fragile is was almost drowned behind the '_Sleepwalk_.' "_Trinity_? But I…I killed you."

"It's not your fault," Dick murmured. "It was an accident."

Guilt racked the spirit all the way to Artemis's mind so powerfully she nearly blacked out completely. Staggering, it shook her head and cried, "It _is_ my fault! How could I let this…"

Dick cut her off, "I'm the one who should be sorry, Tommy. You thought I stopped loving you. But I never did. I loved you with my last breath."

The presence took this in as more tears began to fall from her eyes. Dick moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He murmured soothingly to her, "Shh…no more tears." And then he kissed her, '_Sleepwalk_' ending its raw lament.

Suddenly, the ocean inside her rose like the tide until it cascaded above her, a shimmering body of incorporeal vapors as Tommy lifted into the air, opposite Miss Kate who had seemingly floated from Dick's body. The two spirits rose together, locked in their passionate kiss, blissful to the world and finally at peace before they disappeared.

Artemis became aware of many things a second later. Her mind was now able to process her body movements and their feelings. Accordingly, she felt her arms wrapped around something soft and cottony. Her face and stomach were flushed with heat. Warm breath was tickling her cheek…

_Her lips were pressed to his_!

Her eyes flashed open at the same moment his did, and they flew apart as though burned.

"Oh my God!"

"_Oww…_" they both semi-gasped at the same time, the latter utterance being Dick's.

"Happy Halloween…" Artemis whispered pathetically, not knowing what else to say.

Dick didn't respond however. He staggered back a few paces, swayed, and then began to slump to the hard linoleum floor. Artemis leapt to catch him before his head could smack it. Easing him down so she wasn't taking on all of his weight, she gave a rueful laugh, "Hey, it couldn't have been that bad…"

He coughed, the movement causing him to wince. "You…that…spirit…Tommy."

Suddenly, Artemis remembered the real imaginary bullet that had hit him. "How did you survive!" she cried, now remembering why he looked like he'd just been shot. With no modesty whatsoever, she pulled up the hoodie over his oddly thick looking stomach. Then she understood. "_Of course_ you wear a kevlar vest under your hoodie!"

He smiled, blood showing on his front teeth and she could practically hear his thought, '_never leave home without it_.' "Being shot…at point-blank range…" he gave a very frightening sounding gasp before wincing. "And then falling two stories…onto conc…" He coughed again, this time blood coming up. Artemis tried to carefully lay him sideways so he wouldn't choke but the movement caused him more pain and it was a while before he could continue, "I think I busted some ribs…" he summarized succinctly.

"Try not to move," Artemis whispered as she stroked his hair with one hand- the only part of him she hoped wouldn't hurt- trying to keep him still while she dug out her phone and dialed Alfred with the other. He picked up before the first ring had even finished. She told him where to find them and to come triple time because Dick was coughing up blood with internal bruising. While Artemis was no doctor, she knew enough to know that this was pretty bad.

Fearfully, she watched as Dick struggled to keep his eyes open. She thought of the wayward spirits that had…somehow, against all the odds, possessed them, and she remembered the thought that both Tommy and she had shared when they'd watched Dick and Trinity go over the barrier.

It wasn't love. Because that would be very hard to feel when you're terrified beyond wits. But it wasn't the terror either. It had been regret.

Artemis knew then what she had to do and not a moment later. Her hand continued stroking his hair as she quietly but firmly said, "Dick, I have to tell you something. Can you hear me?"

He didn't nod but he blinked his eyes, the least painful movement he could summon.

Artemis swallowed her fears and kept her focus on the blue of his eyes, clear of the haze that had fogged them over when they'd been possessed. "My sister's name is Jade. In the League of Shadows, she goes by Cheshire." She breathed a shaky sigh and plunged on, not daring to look at him. "My father's name is Lawrence. You know him as Sportsmaster." Having said the worst of it, Artemis quickly tried to explain before he could say anything or possibly die in her arms. "But, _I_ am nothing like them! I made a pledge to myself that I would be different and I haven't broken it yet. I swear that I'm not the traitor! I would give my life for the team…even if I hadn't come to care for all of you, I'd never…I would never intentionally hurt you…I…" her voice breaking, she managed to choke out, "You're amazing, you know…everything you do..." before she was crying and blubbering, completely unhelpful and unable to say anything at all.

His fingers brushed lightly against her cheek before his arm fell limply back to his side. His raspy voice wheezed, "Shh…no more tears." He grinned but it quickly turned into a grimace as he coughed up some more blood and then uttered, "I already knew, Artemis…" before his eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness.

_A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! Also, I HIGHLY recommend listening to the song from the chapter, Santo & Johnny's 'Sleepwalk' from 1959 as you read, just to get the proper feel of the chemistry scene. _


	13. Target 13

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: Ownership is overrated; Young Justice isn't mine. _

_A/N: This chapter…well, it's what I like to think of as a bridge- minus the structural integrity. I'm hoping reviews will stabilize it. _

"Come on Barbara!"

"Just leave me alone!"

"Hmmm… the book bag that boy is running off with looks just like yours."

"Ack!" Barbara yelped as she lost her concentration on the balance beam and tumbled over onto the mat below. She immediately popped up and swiveled her head around, trying to locate the afore mentioned thief.

Artemis held up her book bag and gave an apologetic grin. "Ooops. Guess I was wrong," she said with a shrug.

Barbara took a moment to glare at her before she swiped the proffered bag with a growl, slung it over her shoulder, and proceeded to stomp away from the blonde toward Gotham Academy's girls locker room.

Artemis jogged up beside her. "Come on," she pleaded once more. "Just let me explain…"

Barbara abruptly stopped and rounded on the archer, "There's nothing to explain! I get it! The two of you are obviously a thing. I just wish he would have had the decency to tell me before I made a fool of myself."

Frustrated, Artemis ran a hand over her face. She took a second to breath deeply and then said as calmly as she could manage, "Look, Dick and I are not dating. The only reason I knew he was at home sick was because Alfred had to call and tell me he wouldn't be giving me a ride home this afternoon. That's all."

"That's a lie," Barbara snapped. "You're in on his secret."

Artemis lurched back as though she'd been slapped, her brows knitted. "What are you…"

"Oh, he hasn't said in so many words, but I can tell. He trusts you. The glances, the whispering, how close the two of you have gotten since you've arrived."

"He's in nearly all my classes!" Artemis argued, her own voice beginning to rise.

Barbara put a hand on her hip and glared. "Dick doesn't let people close to him. He has tons of friends, way more than he should for being the captain of the mathletes, but aside from me, he's never gotten close to any one of them. We've been best friends for years and I _know_ what he's been keeping from me even if he refuses to say it. What I _don't_ know is where you fit in."

Artemis was speechless.

Barbara went on, leaning closer and dropping her voice, "So you're either dating him or you're a member of the spandex club. Either way, he's choosing you over me." Her eyes started to water but she angrily wiped the moisture away. "If neither of you can trust me, at least have the decency to stop pretending."

She started to walk away but Artemis caught her wrist. "How long have you known?" she whispered, her voice and grip like stone.

"Let. Go." Barbara hissed, trying unsuccessfully to yank away.

"You haven't answered my question."

Barbara glowered at her before she said slowly, "I've had my suspicions since a rope climbing exercise in the sixth grade."

Artemis released her, her brow raised. "That must have been some rope."

Barbara rubbed her wrist but made no move to flee again. "Dick mentioned it to you?"

"Only that it was the moment you two bonded. He wouldn't go into detail."

Barbara scoffed, "Ha. You mean there's _actually_ something you two haven't shared?"

Artemis folded her arms. "That's not fair."

She rolled her eyes. "Guess that's just another club you can join," she said haughtily before turning on her heel and heading for the exit, the locker room forsaken.

Artemis sighed heavily. She couldn't exactly let things end like that though, so she slung her backpack over her shoulder, tugged her annoying skirt down a bit more, and rushed after the insufferable redhead.

She caught up to her, just outside the gym doors. Barbara stood motionless in the crisp autumn air, her green-eyed gaze focused on the empty parking lot. Her fist was clenched at her side.

"Romy usually picked me up Monday afternoons…" she said softly, her back to Artemis. "She'd take me to the dojo and we'd give free defense lessons to anyone that came in. Sensei had been giving me private lessons in exchange. I asked Romy once what she was getting out of it." Barbara turned to Artemis, the tears now freely falling down her cheeks. "She just smiled."

Artemis quickly closed the distance between them and gave the younger girl a fierce hug, clinging until she felt Barbara's stiff body relax and return it. She didn't try offering any words of comfort, realizing how ridiculously hollow they would sound.

They pulled away, Barbara sniffing. Artemis dug around in her backpack a moment and fished out a pack of tissues. Offering one, she suggested, "How about we take the subway there?"

"Where?" Barbara blearily mumbled as she blew her nose.

"To your dojo."

Barbara considered it for a moment, her expression conflicted. Finally, she shook her head and whispered, "I don't think I can…"

Just then, Artemis spotted Jon exiting the Senior wing of campus, his long legs carrying him purposefully toward the student parking lot and his black Impala. He seemed especially happy.

"Wait," Artemis said, cutting Barbara off. She nodded her head toward the scarecrow boy, "I have a better idea."

Ten minutes later…

"Define _better_, Artemis," Barbara winced as her arms clutched a little tighter around Artemis's torso from her seat behind her on the archer's dark green, four-cylinder motorcycle. "Is this even _yours_!" she cried as Artemis revved the motor, slicing through traffic as she kept an expert distance from Jon's Impala.

Technically, it belonged to the League. But that hadn't stopped Artemis from sprinting to the zeta tube phone booth, dialing into the Mountain, running to the hangar, jumping on her bike, ripping back through the still open tube out into the alley, stopping beside the gym just long enough to pick up an astonished Barbara, and racing off after Jon. But Artemis didn't feel like explaining all that over the wind and through their matching black helmets so she just shrugged her shoulders.

Jon ended up driving all the way to the warehouse district, not exceptionally far from Club Callisto and the alley where he'd dumped her body that night. The building he parked in front of looked as decrepit and rat-infested as any other in the vicinity, perhaps more so with the noticeably broken windows, crumbling ramps, and metal doors that were hanging at bizarre angles on long ago rusted away hinges. The sign that hung over it, now missing a few letters, read 'ATLANTIC TUNA.'

Artemis idled her engine and planted a foot on the curb from the safety of a few blocks away as Barbara and she watched Jon grab a bag from the trunk of his car and, after he'd glanced around a second, enter the warehouse.

They pulled off their helmets and dismounted the bike. "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish here?" Barbara asked as she took in their grungy surroundings. A black cat leaped out of a nearby dumpster and hissed at them, dropping the rotting fish that had been in its jaws.

Artemis tried not to wince as she looked at Barbara, in the yellow and black tank and tights she had been performing her afterschool gymnastics in. Artemis herself was no better, still dressed as she was in her school uniform. She'd taken a risk going through Mount Justice to fetch her bike, but everyone else besides Aqualad would have just been getting off from school like her and Kaldur usually spent this time of the day visiting Atlantis.

She led her bike into the alleyway and pushed the kitty's dumpster in front of it before she turned back to Barbara. "Dick didn't choose me over you," she finally said. Barbara opened her mouth but Artemis quickly went on, "He cares for you a lot- more than you think. And he didn't want you getting hurt."

Barbara glanced around them quizzically. "But you're okay with that idea, I see…"

"Dick was shot Friday night after you left." At Barbara's horrified look, Artemis explained, "There were ghosts- umm…you were actually right about Tommy and Trinity-_ the point being_, they used the ghost story as a front for the deaths but we still don't know exactly _why_ they killed Stephanie and Detective Chandler. I have my theories and ordinarily I'd share them with Dick but, as he's recouping at Wayne Manor right now, I figured…" okay, so she hadn't exactly thought this all the way through. But Barbara was right; they couldn't keep shutting her out. And she needed a distraction right now. Artemis just hoped that she wasn't putting her friend in undo danger.

She pulled the crossbow from her backpack, along with her monocular, and camera. She handed the camera to Barbara. "Take a second and go over the settings. If we come upon a meeting or something, I'll need you to videotape it so we'll have the audio. I need you to promise to stay behind me and if things get rough and I tell you to run, you need to run."

Almost mystified, Barbara quickly nodded and began inspecting the camera.

"One more thing," Artemis said as they began heading toward the warehouse. "Keep your hand on your cellphone. Have 9-1-1 ready to go just in case."

They obviously couldn't just walk through the way that Jon had and say, 'Oh, don't mind us!' so instead, they snuck into the alley beside the large building and assessed their window options.

"I think I can make it to that second story ledge but…" before Artemis could even finish her sentence, Barbara had stuffed the camera in her pocket, sprinted up to the dumpster before them, somersaulted on top of it and done a neat little flip up to the ledge.

"What's taking you?" she called down, her voice lowered but a bright smile on her face.

Artemis smirked- Dick hadn't been exaggerating. "You could have kept a little tighter on that last flip. Make sure you don't let your knee bend until you land it." Mentally cursing her skirt- she _would_ hunt down and make the makers of it pay dearly- Artemis executed the same somersault-flip combo Barbara had used and landed next to her with a withering smile. "I blame my archery, have to have strong arms."

"Hmm… archery, huh? And I don't think my knee actually bent but whatever, spandex."

"Hey, the only one in tights right now is you, Red," Artemis shot back, ignoring her question before crouching and edging over to the broken window on their right. She carefully peered inside.

Jon had donned his burlap scarecrow mask and was currently standing beside a short, extremely rotund man with a beaky looking nose, top hat, and umbrella cane. Jon's tuxedo was gone; in its place he wore a simple black fitted sweater, pants, and combat boots. Some sort of spray contraption was attached to his right forearm. The casual-wear memo must have eluded the beaky guy however, as he was actually in a tuxedo- though his was less dapper and more penguin.

Leaning languidly against a crate was Jade, her mask securely in place and her daggers, as always, spinning playfully in her fingers. The three of them were conversing with a hooded figure, most likely female, Artemis judged by the build.

The window, what was left of it, was fairly dingy, and evening was fast approaching with good cloud cover, so Artemis figured they were fairly well hidden providing that Barbara was as good as she seemed.

"Okay, Red. I need you to start with the filming. I'm going to sneak to the other side and try getting a closer view," she whispered, waving her monocular and already slinking over. Barbara quickly got into position and began shooting the camera expertly. She really was a natural with the tech.

The voices were hard to make out at this distance, but Artemis knew she could pull them up from the camera later. She was busy focusing her monocular, trying to get a look at the woman's face under the hood when Barbara whispered, "So what's your theory?"

"Huh?" Artemis mumbled distractedly. The woman just wouldn't turn her head!

"Why Jon and Cheshire killed Romy."

"I'm not sure about Cheshire, but Jon's practically a free man now with the detective off his case. That's a pretty good motive if you ask me."

"It's not like the file will just disappear though."

"Do you really think any other detective is going to invest the time in it?" Artemis asked pointedly.

Barbara sighed. "Good point. I just can't believe that Jonathan's now a cold-blooded killer…well, actually, I have no problem believing he's capable of murder. Maybe that's what I can't believe…"

"Shhh!" Artemis hushed as scarecrow-head chose that moment to glance their way. Both girls quickly ducked to the side and leaned against the wall.

"Do you think he saw us?" Barbara whispered anxiously.

"I'm not sure, it's hard to imagine him seeing anything with that bag over his head like that," Artemis whispered back.

"I don't know, that black cross running through it gives me the creeps. It's like he can see everything."

"The guy wouldn't need to see everything to find you two. All he'd have to do is hear the raucous you're making," a deep voice said from above them.

Both girls looked up to find Speedy…err…Red Arrow, leaning over the rooftop scowling down at them. They grinned up innocently and waved.


	14. Target 14

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: Ownership is overrated; Young Justice isn't mine. I also don't own the rights to Top Gun or Hot Shots, only the old school VHS versions which don't do anything anymore but get eaten by our decrepit VCR. _

_A/N: HUGE THANKS to the few, the proud, the reviewers. I'm terribly sad that Young Justice seems to be on a hiatus. Anyone know when it will be back? And yes, sadly (or not) there will be no future Robinhood for Stephanie Brown. She's dead dead. But that's okay because I would way rather write about Dick becoming Nightwing than about Stephanie becoming Robin. Not that that's going to happen in this story…any time soon. *cough*_

Red Arrow gracefully dropped down to the ledge and landed cat-like beside Artemis in a crouched position. He slowly straightened, his domino-masked eyes never leaving hers.

Artemis jutted her chin out and refused to be cowed. Off to the side of her vision, she could see Barbara's eyes glued on the new arrival, her mouth slightly agape. Artemis pointedly nodded her head toward the broken window. Barbara took the hint and resumed filming.

"What an honour, _Speedy_," she greeted sweetly, her voice low as she gave a little curtsy in her terribly offensive skirt.

He narrowed his eyes. "Can it, Artemis. You and your friend need to clear out immediately. I don't have time for babysitting."

Artemis huffed. So her costume was fairly useless. Maybe Dick had a point about her hair… ugh, even absent he was always right!

Keeping the camera steady, Barbara craned her neck up at them. "You know her name?" she whispered incredulously.

Disdain nearly dripping onto his shiny new outfit, he replied, "_Obviously_." Good thing neither of them knew which Artemis the other was referring to. "And who are you supposed to be?" He took in Barbara's black and yellow gymnast outfit and raised a brow. "Another of my long lost 'cousins'?" He put annoying air quotes around the word 'cousins'.

Artemis scowled at him but Barbara just looked lost. "Artemis is your cousin?"

He sighed and closed his eyes for a brief second, running a frustrated hand through his short auburn hair before answering shortly, "No." He turned to Artemis, leaning a bit over her much smaller frame in what he must have thought was an intimidating posture as he whispered in a low, menacing growl, "Take your friend and go _now_. I've been tracking Cheshire since Taiwan and I'm not about to lose her here because you just happened to decide that today was the day you were going to play spy for the right team."

Her mouth forming an 'oh' for outrage, Artemis uncrossed her arms and leaned right back, jutting a finger roughly into his Kevlar chest as she craned her neck up so that if she were suddenly endowed with Superman's laser beams, they could make good use of frying a hole through his pompous face. "I don't need to prove myself to you and if you lose Cheshire today, it won't be because of me." She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "It will because you were stupid enough to try taking on the Shadows by yourself."

Unimpressed, he glanced down at the finger poking his chest and then back to her face. "And what? You have a bow hidden up your skirt somewhere?" Artemis opened and closed her mouth a few times, resembling a blowfish but too angry to form words. He went on condescendingly, "Nevermind, it's not hiding anything, let alone a bow. I'll take my chances. Why don't you go home to the 'family' and rethink your costume choices while I take care of this."

Clenching her teeth almost painfully so she wouldn't scream and give away their position- or accidentally wrap her hands around his throat and just happen to strangle the life out of him- Artemis glared for a few moments as hard as she could and then abruptly pivoted and, locking eyes with Barbara, gestured for her to head down. Red Arrow was being a giant jackass and if he wanted to end up shish-kabobbed by her sister, well that was fine by Artemis right now. In fact, a part of her thought she might even enjoy watching it.

His voice caught her just as she prepared to follow Barbara down off the ledge. "Oh, by the way, for a second there, I couldn't even see your medial canthus."

Umm…_What_? "What are you trying not so smoothly to say?" she asked through gritted teeth, already sick of talking to him.

"Just that the eyes are the window into a person's…"

Artemis rolled her offending orbs at him. "Tell me you weren't about to say soul."

"Heritage," he finished, a smirk playing across his lips. "Bye now," he waved dismissively, shooing her away after she realized she'd been standing there gaping at him longer than it took Wally to lap Happy Harbour.

Her heart galloping a frenetic beat against the Gotham Academy seal at her chest, she scoffed and tried to look indifferent as she laughed and denied, "You don't know what you're…"

"Hey, yeomen! A little help here!" Barbara cried in a panic from the alleyway two stories below them.

Artemis and Red Arrow immediately looked down to witness Cheshire advancing on the redhead, twirling her three pronged ninja knives, _sai_, in both hands. Before Artemis even had a chance to scream in horror or Red Arrow the time to raise his bow, Jade had thrown both of them, her aim and technique flawless.

But Barbara was fast, faster than Artemis had given her credit for. She threw herself sideways and landed hard on her shoulder but managed to avoid the spinning daggers.

Not wasting another millisecond, Artemis grabbed her crossbow and flipped down to the street level. She landed in a roll and sprung to her feet in time to avoid a strange pin-missile projectile. Craning her neck, she saw that the penguin-man had fired it at her using his large black umbrella, as he and Jon emerged into the fray.

Her aim every bit as good as Jade's, Artemis coldly lobbed a quarrel at each of them before she sprinted to Barbara's side and helped the younger girl to her feet. "Now would be a good time to make with the cellphone and the running," she urged, her hand clasped tightly around Barbara's and her legs already running toward the alleyway entrance.

In the process of being dragged behind her, Barbara suddenly jerked her hand free. "Wait! We can't just leave him!"

About to retort, 'Whyever not?' Artemis half turned her head in time to see Jade and Red Arrow engaged in a deadly duel, Jon and penguin-man both very much not impaled and advancing to help her sister. From the shadows behind them materialized the mysterious cloaked woman.

Okay, so Red Arrow was about to become red meat in an extremely Speedy manner; was Artemis really equipped to do much about it?

"What are you waiting for?" Barbara exclaimed, giving her shoulders a firm shake, "Your hot archer friend is about to be toast!"

Artemis blanched. "Guh… _please_ do the dialling, fleeing thing we discussed!" she snapped before running back to help Dead Meat get both their asses kicked.

Okay, actually, she didn't want Dead Meat as her wingman right now; she needed Goose, so Artemis tried to convince herself that Red Arrow and she could do the team thing as she tackled her sister from behind.

Cheshire quickly rolled them over so she was on top, her dagger a centimetre from Artemis's jugular before she checked herself. They both froze, taking the other in. Artemis couldn't read anything with the mask in the way, but she thought she sensed more than hesitation in her sister's countenance. For her own part, Artemis was already coming to regret her decision to help Speedy-Goose out. She didn't need her nightmare version of Jade becoming a reality.

"Get off of her, _slowly_," Red Arrow demanded, his tone low and gravelly as he trained an arrow at Cheshire's temple. At this range, there was no way she could avoid it.

Jade withdrew her dagger and leaned back so she was straddling Artemis. "Kind of kinky, but I like that about you," she teased, her voice through the mask distorted and sensuous as she turned her Cheshire smile on him.

Speedy-Goose looked about ready to lay an egg. "I'm not playing games with you…"

Events transpired in slow motion as Artemis watched one of Penguin-man's projectiles impale Red Arrow in the shoulder at that moment, going all the way through and leaving a sizable blood-gushing hole in its wake. He staggered with the force of the hit but managed to keep his feet. His bow arm, now useless, dropped the weapon and it fell to the street with the clang of a cannon.

Both Penguin-man and Jon seemed content to keep their distance, but already, pudgy ducky was reloading his umbrella for another shot.

Suddenly Jade's mask was in Artemis's face. "Sorry sis, nothing personal," she whispered before head-bashing her. The cracking ring that followed reverberated around Artemis's skull like a ping-pong. The blow bounced up and down her spine and then slammed back into her forehead like an ace serve before finally being identified by her momentarily fractured mental facilities as that of agonizing, tear-jerking pain.

She squelched a shriek by biting her tongue, the tangy copper taste that flooded her mouth an unavoidable side affect, but worth it as Jade seemed content to hop off of her and resume her assault on the now crippled Red Arrow.

She feigned once, then twice, and then came around to sucker punch him to the ground. He fell to one knee but blocked her foot an inch from his head using his unimpaired left arm. She nimbly sprung away from him and stood statue still for a second, her head cocked to the side as if he were a particularly difficult puzzle. "It's a shame we're not playing," she lamented at length, a wavering semblance of truth to her mockery. With a slight edge of reticence not usually found in Jade, she slowly withdrew her _sai_, twirled them twice and sighed, "Because that means this has to end."

She grasped the daggers firmly by the hilt and plunged them into Red Arrow's chest right as Artemis lurched to her feet, grasped Red Arrow's fallen bow, and swung it at the back of her sister's head as hard as she possibly could.

Nothing personal about it.

Cheshire crumbled gracefully in front of a surprise-faced Red Arrow, slumping limply to the alley street as though she'd decided to take a sudden nap. The force of her sai's thrust having been averted, the daggers clattered along beside her. There was a matching pair of rips in his Kevlar and the outermost layer of his chest where small rivulets of blood were seeping onto his very appropriately coloured costume. Despite this, his most urgent wound was still the hole in his shoulder.

Her head continuing to ring, in a daze, Artemis took in his gory chest and thought, '_Hmm… 'tis but a flesh wound_.' She shook her head, clearing it, and then clutched his bow in one hand and wrapped her other around his waist to help hoist him up. He was much heavier than her, but he helped and together, they got him back on his feet.

Penguin-man shot another projectile, but Artemis batted it away using the bow in a move Wonder Woman would have been proud of. "We need to get out of here," she whispered urgently, staggering under his weight.

Through teeth gritted in agony, Red Arrow shook his head stubbornly and replied, "We're not finished yet." He shoved her away from him as another projectile whizzed by the space that had opened up between them. Using his left hand to reach back and withdraw several of his arrows, he tossed one she recognized as an explosive toward her. She automatically caught it, strung it, and let it fly toward Penguin-man as though they'd been practicing this their whole lives.

Well, maybe they had. Just definitely not together.

His compound bow was much longer than her own and required greater force to draw back, but she compensated well and had no trouble as he tossed her another explosive arrow. Penguin-man was now in full-on retreat mode but Artemis was slow to realize that she'd lost track of Jon. He appeared as quiet as a real scarecrow only a few feet to her side, the merciless black slashes across his burlap mask both terrifying and fascinating.

She gasped and attempted to swivel the red bow around to face him as he callously sing-songed, "Nothing to fear Arty-dear- except for this of course." He extended his right arm, wrist upward, revealing the spray contraption she'd seen earlier in the warehouse.

Artemis didn't wait to see if his poppy-fear spray was working properly. Instead, she scrambled backward frantically, tugging Red Arrow along with her.

A shower of concentrated yellow vapour jetted toward them. Unable to bat this away with the bow, Artemis turned her back to it and sucked in air, preparing to hold her breath as long as it took. With Red Arrow clutching his shoulder and unaware of the danger bearing down on them, Artemis did the only thing she could think of, and smothered his nose and mouth with her hand.

His visored eyes widened in alarm, but she just continued to shove him back, shaking her head to indicate that, no, she was not in fact trying to kill him at that moment.

But whether he believed her or not, loss of blood and stumbling backward conspired against him and he lost his balance only to drag Artemis down with him.

They landed in a tangle of limbs a mere dozen feet away from Jon who was calmly watching them struggle. "Still squirming…" he softly remarked as Artemis pushed herself off of Red Arrow's torso and rolled over only to find the nozzle of Jon's spray gun pointed directly between her eyes. "Well," he continued casually, "Now I've seen the bow, but how's your virtue, goddess-girl?"

A whimper escaped her throat as she helplessly watched the yellow vapours shoot towards them. She flung up her arm, covering her mouth and nose, but the fear leaked in anyway.

She was in the alley behind Callisto once more, but instead of the nightmare vision of Sportsmaster, this time she saw Jon, his face unmasked but dark and clothed in wicked shadows. He had her pinned against the brick wall as Xander and Rupert shredded her clothing like tissue paper. Naked before him, Jon relished her tears as his cold fingers traced her defenceless skin, his touch leaving a trail of revulsion that clawed its way upward. The bile rose through her throat, burning and suffocating her as she heard the sound of a zipper as though from far away and through another's ears.

She wanted to fight. She wanted so badly to deck him and kick him where it hurt most, but she was locked in her own fear, in the fear he was forcing upon her.

Artemis blinked, her vision doubling as it alternated between alleyways, nightmares and reality. It wasn't about fighting the fear, she realized. It was about dealing with it. Jon had assaulted her that evening mentally and left a raw, open wound to fester and flame the fears that plagued her night after night. Whether it had been real or only real in her mind, Artemis forced herself to calm.

She couldn't undo the past but she _would _overcome it.

As her heart rate began to slow and her double vision disappeared, Artemis found herself confronted with a wall of black cloth before her and a grimacing Red Arrow laid out on his side behind her, his left hand clawing at the pavement in spasms. The toxin was definitely in his system and he was still trying to fight it.

The black wall turned into a cape as it swished sideways, the yellow ribbons of the fear gas dissipating to reveal Batman with a rebreather over his mouth. Beyond him, Jon the scaredy-crow was backing quickly away.

Batman held out a hand to her just as Barbara ran up to them and knelt to check on Red Arrow.

"We'll meet again soon, Beloved," the mysterious woman in the cloak promised in a cultured accent as thick, grey smoke enveloped her. Penguin-man waddled into it as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. Jon stood at the brink of the shadow for a moment, brazenly staring them down before he too melted into the swirling miasma.

A cursory glance around the alley revealed that Cheshire was still right where Artemis had knocked her out. Batman descended on her and swiftly bound her wrists and ankles using black flexicuffs he'd pulled from his utility belt. He gathered her still unconscious body and deposited her against the wall near where Barbara was checking Red Arrow.

Transfixed at the sight of her proud and courageous evil sister bound and defeated, her Cheshire head slumped over sideways, Artemis didn't even notice when Batman materialized right before her. "Guess I need a bat pager," Artemis chuckled nervously as Batman took in Red Arrow's injuries and finally levelled his powerful stare on her. "Are you going to follow them?" she finally asked as he did that creepy bat thing where his gaze dissected your soul.

"Red Arrow needs assistance and we need to contain Cheshire before anymore of her associates come back," he gruffly replied. "Take Miss Gordon and proceed directly to the Manor. _We have some things to discuss_."

His last words promised hours of lecturing fun and intensified torture/training sessions to look forward to but Artemis quickly nodded. "Sure thing!" she almost squeaked. A little fear was healthy, especially where Wayne was involved.

Batman pulled another rebreather out of his utility belt much as Robin had done for her the day the Reds had attacked Mouth Justice, and placed it over Red Arrow's mouth. The archer's pained grimace relaxed slightly after he'd breathed through the mechanism for a few moments.

Satisfied, Batman took off the rebreather and stood. Holding a finger to his ear, he radioed, "Batman to Watchtower. Red Arrow's down. Need immediate assistance and a pickup for Belle Reve."

"You're sending her _there_!"

"Where else would we be sending her?" he answered shortly while checking Red Arrow's vitals. The archer was starting to regain his senses with a few moans and groans.

"The League of Assassins will tear through that place like butter if they think there's even the slightest chance she'll break."

"Belle Reve holds meta-level criminals with ease. It's the safest place to keep her," he said with finality, successfully putting an end to their discussion as he retrieved some iodine, dressing, and clean, white gauze strips from his ever-more impressively growing utility belt.

Barbara was cradling Red Arrow's head so it wasn't on the pavement as Batman began a quick patch job on his shoulder to get him ready to be moved.

Artemis knelt beside Red Arrow, feeling relieved that he was looking stabilized, and slightly weird about her relief since it had only been a few minutes ago she'd considered letting Jade rip him to pieces. Guess that was what the teamwork thing did- made you not want to see your teammates die horrible deaths.

As though he were reading her thoughts, his gaze flickered toward her and he held out his left hand. He was frowning, but that was nothing new. She tentatively placed her own in his, his fevered heat radiating through her as his fingers closed tightly around her palm. "I may have been wrong about you," he finally muttered with some difficulty.

Which part, my family or my allegiance? Artemis wanted to ask. Instead, she just grinned. "_Aww_, Goose. I guess I'll let you be my wingman after all."

"…_What_?" he asked after a moment, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Well, I'm obviously Maverick in this equation, which would make you Goose." _My sidekick_, she mentally added, relishing the way his domino-masked eyes were narrowing.

He dryly responded, "Or we could revisit the part where I know your deepest, darkest secret and you stop calling me inappropriate names."

Artemis wrenched her hand free and felt the immature urge to stick out her tongue at him, but Batman, finished with dressing the wound and taping the gauze over it, intervened, "Her secrets are safe with the both of us, Red Arrow. And Artemis," he added, helping the wounded Archer to his feet, "Goose died in that movie. I suggest you apply more consideration in your choices… all of them."

Artemis grumbled but didn't argue back. It wasn't like she wanted Red Arrow to die! It's just that his ego was writing checks his body couldn't cash and he _needed_ to be taken down a few pegs.

Reading her silence as a sign of contrition, Batman almost didn't frown at her then.

The four of them felt a sudden rush of air, accompanied by the whooshing sound made from a jet as it hovered overhead. The alleyway was growing dark in the waning evening light, but Artemis couldn't see anything above them at all until a cable dropped down. It was like the cable was coming from nothingness. Artemis just stared at in confusion but Barbara, her voice awed, gushed, "Oh my… it's Wonder Woman's invisible jet!"

_Oh…of course, _was all Artemis could dumbly think as she watched Batman snap the clip on the end of the cable to the leather harness that held Red Arrow's quiver in place. Goose…_Red Arrow,_ gave her a flippant two-fingered salute before he was winched upward and disappeared inside the invisible jet.

The cable fell back down and Batman unceremoniously hauled Cheshire's limp form toward it, snapped the end around the middle of her cuffs, and let the winch drag her upwards. Artemis winced at the pain her sister was going to feel in her wrists and arms upon waking, but then her forehead twinged and she suddenly didn't feel so bad for her.

The cable dropped a third time, Batman's cue to make his dramatic, cape-billowing exit, but before he could be gone with the wind, he rounded on Artemis and reiterated in his lowest of growls normally reserved for the likes of the Joker, "If Alfred tells me the two of you aren't at the Manor in thirty minutes, you're suspended from Young Justice."

Artemis bit her lip and gave a curt nod before watching him do his dramatic cape-billowing exit, the hatch on the invisible jet closing behind him. Barbara and she felt the rush of air and the whoosh! that signified the jet's departure.

Artemis hooked her arm securely around Barbara's elbow and led the redhead back to her motorcycle. "So how'd you manage to call the cowled cavalry instead of your dad's? Don't tell me you got the numbers mixed up."

Unperturbed, Barbara answered, "I have the Manor's number on speed dial. I figured Batman would get here way before my father, and you don't exactly need the publicity."

"Did you happen to accidentally mention to him how I am _so_ not responsible for your finding out?" Artemis pushed the dumpster away from her bike and handed one of the helmets to Barbara. "Please say yes because if not, I'm about to be batkibble."

"Sorry," Barbara shrugged, "I was a bit more concerned with making sure you and the hot archer guy didn't die."

Artemis sighed in exasperation. "Did you not just hear the part about Batman being extremely unhappy with me?"

"I think you need to work on prioritizing." She shoved on the helmet and wrinkled her nose, "Oh, and you're welcome by the way. If he hadn't arrived when he had, Jon's spray would have hit you directly."

The Batmobile sped by them at that moment and the girls watched it go with equal parts wonder and confusion. They both shrugged and turned back to Artemis's motorcycle.

She shoved on her own helmet and mounted the bike, Barbara jumping on behind her. She turned her head to the side and asked incredulously, "You don't actually think Red Blowhard is hot?"

She then revved the motor, effectively drowning out Barbara's answer, and then sped out onto the street with a grin as her friend cried out an indignant yelp and had to clutch Artemis to prevent falling off the back.

Some things were better left unheard.


	15. Target 15

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need. I don't own much of anything, especially Young Justice! I just want new episodes, more than you could ever know. Make my wish come true…and please, oh please, leave-a review! _

_A/N: Jingle bells, Barbara yells, Robin's finally seen. Artemis recalls her sis, and Alfred makes some tea! _

* * *

><p>Artemis couldn't leave her motorcycle parked in front of the Manor so she drove it around behind. Barbara pointed out the small dirt track and they slowly wound their way down through a few oak groves that led to the all but obsolete Wayne Stable.<p>

The leaves above them sighed in the night breeze, casting wavering dappled shadows across the faint moonlit path. Artemis felt a small chill run up her spine as she felt the eerie remoteness of Wayne's sprawling estate and took a certain amount of comfort in Barbara's presence behind her.

The building was old, rebuilt in the 1940's, and large enough to stable a dozen mounts, but these days only two stalls were occupied and they were mostly for appearances' sake. Artemis cut the motor and dismounted her bike after Barbara had slid off.

"You ever ride?" Barbara asked as she went to go stroke a black nose poking out over a stall guard. The horse's lips were puckered and seeking a treat like a blind man would a kiss. When none was found, a long, pink tongue came out and began licking the salt from her palm. Barbara giggled, offering up her other palm as well.

Artemis led her bike to the first empty stall she came across and put down the kickstand and their helmets as her mind dredged up all the times her father had taken her to strange foreign woods, lonely mountains, and bucolic abandoned fields half a world away.

First, he had taught her the basics of survival. Then they had progressed to weapons- he'd quickly deduced her affinity for archery and had developed that. A sportsman to the extreme, Lawrence had ensured that every aspect of her training would count. She had learned to ride a horse as well as a dirtbike. She could hunt and fish and track as well as she could kill, defend, and hide.

She had learned it all, but had she ever ridden as Barbara was asking her? For the enjoyment of it? Had she ever felt the freedom of a mad gallop or the rush of a soaring jump without the bitter aftertaste that came with knowing that nothing she did was ever going to be enough to pass the Sportsmaster's tests? That- if that was even possible- it was something she wanted for herself?

She joined Barbara by the stall door as the horse stretched its elegant neck over the guard. "Nope, guess I need to talk Wayne into letting me have a go sometime," she murmured as her fingers traced down the black silken forelock all the way to the animal's velvet muzzle. The horse lightly nipped at her fingertips when she drew them away. He snorted and tossed his head as she gave a final pat to his sleek neck. "Come on, I'm on a deadline," she told Barbara, her gaze still locked on the horse's large doe eye where she could see her own sad reflection staring back. Why were animal's eyes always so clear? She turned away and started heading back toward the path they'd come. "Dead being the operative word if I've exceeding my thirty minutes."

* * *

><p>Alfred opened the door before Artemis had a chance to ring the amazingly gong-like doorbell. She lowered her hand and offered a tentative smile. "Miss me, Alfie?"<p>

"Indubitably," he announced, strait-faced as always. He inclined his head ever so slightly to Barbara, "Good evening, Miss Gordon," before admitting them into the grand foyer. "Master Wayne will be pleased to know of your arrivals. I trust the two of you can find your way to a certain young man's bedside in the meantime?"

"We can do that. Thanks Alfred," Barbara said as she headed for the stairs.

Artemis hesitated. "When you call him, could you mention to him that I had nothing to do with her finding out?"

Alfred stared at her for a long moment before he blinked and slowly responded, "And just what, pray tell, is it she knows to which you played no prior part?"

"Umm…" Artemis flapped her hands like little wings, "You know."

He raised a brow. "I see."

"So you'll do it?" she asked hopefully.

"I shall endeavor to convey your wish. However, I'm not sure Master Wayne will care much for Barbara's discovery of our…" he imitated Artemis's hand-flapping gesture, "Hummingbird community."

"That's not what I meant and you know it, you sadistic butler!"

Alfred allowed a diminutive grin to form before he spun on his heel and strode toward the kitchen.

_Someone's feeling cheeky tonight_, Artemis thought as she watched him go before following Barbara upstairs and down the long, portrait-strewn hallway to Dick's room.

The scene she came upon- Dick in bed, wounded, and Barbara hovering by his side- was extremely déjà vu. The only difference this time, was that Artemis wasn't the one with the secret and felt no reservations about entering to join her friends. She waved a hello to Dick and seated herself at the chair beside his bed next to where Barbara was standing with her arms folded.

"Not that I'm 'turbed to see you two, but what gives?" Dick asked, struggling to sit up. Artemis leaned forward in her chair and propped a few of his pillows up behind his back to help support him. He turned his head so their faces were only a few inches apart just as she was leaning back, a different question in his blue eyes.

Artemis bit her lower lip and jerked her head toward Barbara. She, Artemis, was intent on maintaining a witness-only persona during the coming drama.

Barbara cleared her throat. "I wish you would have told me you were sick, _Dick_." It was never good news for Robin when his given name was uttered in such a way. Barbara went on, her tone level but her green eyes aflame, "I had to learn about it from Artemis."

Artemis sighed and sunk further back into the cushion of her seat, trying to develop latent Martian phasing abilities.

Dick glanced at her curiously again, before hesitantly turning back to Barbara and replying, "Sorry, Babs. You know I would have been there for you if I could. This bug just has really rotten timing. I think it might be the same thing I had a while back."

Barbara's jaw was clenched as she nodded her head as though pensive. "I did some research on this _bug_. It only seems to affect certain birds… of the red variety." Robin raised a brow. "Some of the side affects include loss of sleep, lying to friends, and suffering life-threatening wounds that have absolutely nothing to do with being sick!"

Dick grimaced and started coughing. Artemis itched to do something, comfort him or calm Barbara down, but she forced herself to stay glued where she was.

Once he finally got a grip on his attack, Dick gave an empty chuckle, his eyes fixed on his comforter. "I really need to stop getting shot, or pretty soon all of Gotham is going to know my identity." No one said anything for a few heartbeats and then he looked up at Barbara's face, searching. "Unless you were talking about some mutant Cardinal I'm unaware of?"

Barbara said nothing, her arms still crossed tightly against her chest as though holding herself back.

Dick sobered, his face suddenly drawn and paler than it had been only a few moments before. "How long, Babs? Why now?"

"I had suspicions since the rope. But I knew for sure after seeing footage of Batman and Robin taking down one of Falcone's gangs on television about a year ago. Robin did a quadruple somersault."

"And you already knew about the Flying Graysons…" Dick concluded wearily. "What about the other part?"

_Here is comes…_ Artemis winced.

Barbara didn't disappoint. She shook her head, one of her hands coming up to rub her temple before she whispered, "I'm through pretending."

"What are you saying?"

"That I can't be friends with someone who lies to my face, probably for noble reasons or whatever, but has no problem letting others in on them."

Artemis sighed again, feeling like she'd just run a marathon, and limply pulled herself from the chair. "I'm going to give you two some privacy…" she muttered, turning to go.

Dick caught her hand. "Stay," she thought she heard him whisper.

Barbara looked pained and defeated. "He's right Artemis. If anyone should go, it's me. I clearly don't belong here anymore." Tears were welling in her eyes as she made to leave.

Dick surprised them both by ripping the covers off himself- revealing a colorful pair of math oriented pajama bottoms complete with chubby square roots and factoring fights- and fumbled from the bed, his fingers still gripped to Artemis's hand. She steadied him and he lurched toward Barbara, his other hand outstretched as a red flower bloomed from the stomach of his white cotton t-shirt.

His knees gave out but both girls were immediately there to help ease him down to the lush midnight blue carpet. In each hand, he clasped one of theirs.

"Don't go, Babs," he pleaded, staring at her.

"Then explain it to me," she quietly urged.

"First things, first," Artemis whispered, taking in the blood that had ruptured from his wound and his ever more whitening complexion. He wasn't supposed to be out of bed and he definitely wasn't doing so hot. She pried her hand from his grasp and scooped him in her arms, making sure she lifted up using her leg muscles and not her back.

Artemis could easily bench her own body weight, an archer's arms needing to be especially strong. Robin was slightly shorter than her and his weight felt about equal, so she didn't have too much difficulty carrying him the few steps it took back to his bed. She laid him back down on it as gently as she could and reached for the first aid kit.

Dick sighed, staring up at his ceiling as Artemis peeled back his stained tee, revealing where he'd been shot by the ghost bullet- she still had no clue on the physics of that, perhaps someday when Wally was talking to her again they could figure it out- and grabbed a few gauzes from the kit, going to his adjoining bathroom to wet them.

When Artemis returned, she saw Barbara continuing to hold Dick's hand. She had seated herself in Artemis's chair. He began to speak in a hoarse whisper, ignoring the pain he must have felt every time Artemis dabbed at his wound, "Artemis is an associate of mine. We work on a team of junior superheroes together, a sort of covert division of the Justice League. Batman transferred her to our school so I could keep an eye out for her. She found out about my identity the night of the scholarship banquet and after Jonathan revealed himself…well, I saw it as part of my duty to watch out for her."

Artemis's hand stilled, the soapy betadine gauze in her fingers dripping brown suds in his raw, pink wound. She swallowed a lungful of the charged air and allowed the horrible ramifications of his declaration to soak in.

_A part of his duty? An obligation? A freaking chore to do day in and day out? Is that what he sees me as? Is that what I am?_

His blue eyes found hers when she stopped her ministrations. She knew that look like she knew so many of his. He was asking, '_You okay_?'

She ignored him and redoubled her efforts on his wound, scrubbing a little rougher than was necessary and not caring when some of the cold water from her rinse made its way onto his sheets.

"I didn't tell you," he went on, explaining to Barbara, "Because I'm not allowed to tell anyone my identity."

"That doesn't seem like enough to stop you," Barbara quietly pointed out.

He paused, wincing slightly when Artemis nearly slapped the bandage over his stomach and tugged his tee down, before responding, "It's not. The idea of you getting involved in this, like I know you want to, and getting hurt or killed, _is_."

"It's my life," she argued.

"I know, and I'd like it to stay that way," he said firmly.

Alfred rapped his knuckles on the doorframe, "Sorry to interrupt, but Master Wayne requests your audience, my dear." He was looking strait at Artemis.

And he'd said, '_my dear'_- Alfred's code for you're in deep batcrap.

Artemis straitened. Dick was watching her now and she met his gaze. "Well, I hate being a _burden_. By all means, you two carry on," she said, her tone bordering on acidic as she brushed past Alfred and away from them, her heart feeling heavy.

* * *

><p>Batman was freshly showered and wearing his pretty Bruce Wayne costume as Alfred announced her at the door to his study.<p>

His costume, unlike Artemis's, was so convincing, she almost thought that she was in the presence of the playboy billionaire until she looked into his steely gaze. It was like looking into a dark blue clock, its well-oiled cogs fast and immeasurably astute. They were the eyes of the Dark Knight.

"Which part of _secret identities_ did you not understand?" he growled as soon as she seated herself opposite him across his massive desk.

She took a deep, calming breath before responding, "I didn't tell her."

"Why was she calling for Batman at the Manor?"

"She's upstairs talking with Dick right now. Seems like your inquisition would go a lot more smoothly with her here."

He narrowed those dangerous eyes at her. "I'm asking _you_."

"She'd figured it out," Artemis replied shortly.

"And you just assumed- since she knew- that it would be alright to throw her in the middle of a Shadows meeting?"

"Wha..? No!" Artemis spluttered, her temper flaring. "I didn't know Jon was going to be meeting Jade! He just looked like he was up to something and there wasn't enough time to call anybody. It was strictly surveillance. And then Speedy showed up and probably tipped them off with all his yammering and things got rough." She crossed her arms and glared at Batman, amazed by her own daring. "I would never intentionally put a civilian at risk."

"Unintentional is worse. It implies that you not only failed to perceive the consequences, you didn't think before you acted," his gruff tone finally faded into a slightly more human range as he added, "…an impulsion that has cost many a hero their life."

At the first sign of compassion, Artemis wilted, breaking their staring contest as her eyes fell to her lap. "Are you going to suspend me?"

"What would you do if our positions were reversed?" he asked clinically. She winced at the wall he was bricking between them once more. She'd thought they'd finally built a decent rapport, only to have it crumble with this latest goof.

"I…" she sighed. "I'd probably suspend me. That, or assign extra chores around the Mountain and here." He didn't respond so she added, "Maybe add a few more training courses and some tacky educational videos about the proper way to superhero?"

His lip twitched. "Superman is in charge of the motivational movies. I believe atonement is only achievable through action." He stood behind his desk, his impressive stature towering above her as his shadow fell across her face. "I'm not giving you another chance, because in this line of work, there are none. You _will_ never put a civilian in danger again the way you did tonight. The next time you want to chase a lead, you _will_ call for backup and change into your proper attire. You were very lucky tonight that Red Arrow happened to be there. And I'll expect your full debrief, including his notes on the attack- typed, double-spaced, and proofread- in my hands by 0600 hrs tomorrow morning."

"How am I supposed to interview _Speedy_ between now and then?"

"I'm going to take you up to visit him."

_He didn't mean…he couldn't…_

"…Up?" she asked, slightly breathless.

His mask unchanging, he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Cheshire was uncooperative when Wonder Woman and I questioned her," he said slowly in his low rumble, as though this explained everything.

"Huh…? What does this have to do with her? And what about Wonder Woman's rope trick thingy?"

"The _Lasso of Truth_ worked, to an extent, but without knowing the proper questions to ask, she only led us to the answers that worked for her. We must find out what they were up to at the warehouse, and I can't afford to lose your sister in the Belle Reve bureaucracy."

"Wait, are you trying to tell me that my sister, _the assassin_, is up in your super-secret orbiting satellite right now! Have the bats finally flown the belfry!"

She decided then that Batman's silence was probably his most terrifying aspect. Conversations, even heated ones, were at some level reassuring. Whereas the absence of speech, the piercing silence he wielded with as much deadly force as a katana, made you tremble and fidget until your guts spilled forth.

So it was with Artemis.

She gave a small squeak and slid the heavy chair backward as far as she could.

It wasn't far enough. "I'm _telling_ you that as soon as J'onn returns from a mission on Takron-Galtos, we will be extracting the information from your sister's mind."

M'gann had told her about the prisons on Takron-Galtos. The way she had described them, they were like a happy collision of the Bastille meets Alcatraz. So, really not so happy then. In a small voice, Artemis asked, "But if she fights his telepathy hard enough, like all agents of the LA are trained to, her mind could snap."

"J'onn won't let it go that far, but there's the risk that his mission might take longer than we thought."

"In which case you'll have to rely on our only other telepath…" Artemis whispered, a sick feeling gnawing at her stomach.

"With the League's recent involvement in Gotham, we have to exhaust all available options. I'm informing you and giving you a chance to reason with her before we are forced to bring M'gann on board."

"Seeing me will only make Jade worse."

"Nothing is certain," he said darkly. "Alfred," he called, and immediately the butler was at the doorway as though by magic, "Bring Barbara here. I need to talk with her next."

"Am I excused now?" Artemis asked rudely.

"No," Wayne said, walking around his desk to stand beside her chair. Artemis resisted the urge to cower away from his imposing presence. To her surprise however, he held out his hand, "I wanted to acknowledge what you did tonight."

"_Wha…?"_ was all Artemis could articulate, dumbly taking his hand.

"Red Arrow told me how you saved his life. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to your enemies, even more when they happen to be your family."

Of all the things that had happened to her this night, Artemis found Batman's complement to be the most shocking- along with the fact that Goosey had actually spoken up for her. She didn't know what to say so she mutely accepted his praise. It was cosmically unlikely that she would ever receive it again.

He shook her hand and helped her from the seat, turning her toward the door where she found Alfred and Barbara emerging.

Alfred cleared his throat. "Miss Gordon, Master Wayne."

"Now you're excused," Batman said with a very Bruce Wayne grin.

* * *

><p>Artemis stood numbly outside Wayne's study for a minute before Alfred joined her.<p>

"I'm told you should wait with Master Grayson," Alfred said, taking in the train wreck that was Artemis at that moment. "But perhaps a spot of tea first?"

He seated her on one of the stools inside Wayne's cavernous kitchen and pushed a steaming porcelain cup before her.

Artemis stared at the swirling brown liquid inside, smelling faintly of French-vanilla. She grasped it and thought of her sister, barely noticing as her hands burnt.

Alfred quickly took the cup away from her and set it back down carefully on the countertop. "While I have always considered tea an essential part of one's daily nutrition, I'm somewhat surprised by your sudden regard for the beverage."

Miserable with her life at the moment, Artemis finally looked up. "Have you ever loved someone you knew you shouldn't, Alfred?"

"No," he responded after giving the question due consideration. "I've always loved exactly those I should. You see, while love may be misplaced, ignored, or questioned, it's never unfounded." He took a sip of his own tea and quietly sat with her for a few minutes before he spoke again, "Master Grayson should consider himself a very lucky young man to have your esteem."

Artemis fell off the stool, accidentally taking her cup with her. The porcelain shattered on the tile floor and the hot tea burnt her hands as she frantically began picking up the shards.

"_WHAT_?" she finally managed to screech.

"Oh?" Alfred asked bemused, as he retrieved a broom and dustpan from a supply closet. "Was I mistaken?"

Artemis cut herself on one of the shards. "Ow! _Yes_…" she growled as she clinched her fist around the severed finger. "I was actually thinking about my…" -it's not like Alfred was going to spread her rumors- "Sister. She's not a good person and I'm not sure if she's ever really loved me but I can't help worrying and feeling horrible inside for what's happened to her."

Alfred directed her to the sink and gently took her hand, running the cold water over the cut until the blood was gone. He wrapped it in a tissue and gave her hand a squeeze. "She sounds like someone very much in need of your love then."

He reminded her to wait in Dick's room for Batman and then left her alone in the kitchen with her thoughts.


	16. Target 16

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need. I don't own much of anything, especially Young Justice! I just want new episodes, more than you could ever know. Make my wish come true…and please, oh please, leave-a review! _

_A/N: Sorry for the short chapter and the long delay, but I'm stateside so yay! Please r &r and have a wonderful and safe holiday season!_

* * *

><p>Artemis had calmed considerably by the time she made it back up to Dick's room. She entered quietly, watching him as he idly thumbed through an odd looking book. Though he must have been aware of her presence, he didn't acknowledge her when she sat down once more in the chair beside his bed.<p>

On closer inspection, she realized that the book was actually a photo album. The pictures on the page he was viewing showed what must have been his mother, father, and him doing their high wire act.

"I loved the Circus…" he said sadly, at last breaking the silence, his eyes still focused on the pictures as he turned the well-worn page. The new photos revealed pictures of a young Dick and a little girl playing with a baby gorilla, a strong man hoisting Dick and the same little girl on top of his dumbbell with one hand, and Dick in the process of coughing, a small dagger in one of his hands as a grizzly looking Russian laughed in the background. The last photo on the far page showed Dick balanced on his mother's shoulders as she stood on his father's. The balance required in that Polaroid moment was fairly staggering. And the easy way with which the family smiled, compounded by their ultimate fate, made Artemis struggle to remember why she thought she was supposed to be mad at him just then.

He went on, "It was my life, all I dreamed about. But sometimes," he finally turned to face her, his expression thoughtful, "I wonder whether this is ultimately where I was always meant to be." He closed the book and gingerly sat it down on his nightstand and then fished around in the drawer for a minute before pulling out one of his domino masks. He continued, absently fingering the mask, "I love my parents, and nothing will ever take that from me, but Robin is who I am. Maybe I don't want to grow up to be Batman, but I know that whoever I'll be, helping the innocent is what I'll be doing." He pushed the mask into her hands, "And I know that's you too."

Startled, Artemis asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Because you decided your own path that has nothing to do with following your parents' legacy and everything to do with you caring about others."

"If you really believe that, why do you still feel like you have to keep an eye out for me? I thought I'd earned your trust…"

He laughed suddenly, the sound bordering on one of his infamous ninja cackles. Artemis reeled back, hurt and annoyed. The sound brought Sirius out from his hiding place beneath Dick's bed and he jumped into Artemis's lap for protection. The domino mask slipped from her hands as she put them securely around the fluffy white ball of fur.

Seeing her expression as she comforted his panicked rabbit, Dick stifled his laughter and managed to choke out, "You really thought I considered you a _burden_? Hahaha!"

Artemis narrowed her eyes and clutched the scrambling Sirius a little closer to her chest, "That's what you were saying earlier. Or is it okay to go back on that since Red isn't here?"

That put a quick end to his laughter. He carefully leaned toward her till they were no more than a few inches apart and then whispered, "Did you ever think that maybe I keep an eye on you because I like you?" He raised a questioning brow before bending over the side of his bed to pick up his fallen mask. In doing so, he missed the wide-eyed- deer caught in headlights- look on Artemis's face in that moment.

Unsure whether the pitter patter she felt in her chest was from her own heart or the frantic bunny's, Artemis gaped and did nothing but hold Sirius as Dick secured the mask over her face, the material seamlessly adhering to her temples and the bridge of her nose as she felt his fingers accidentally- or perhaps not- graze her skin. "It suits you," he grinned as he leaned back against his pillows.

What? _What?_ Artemis tried to process what was going on here, but couldn't quite manage it. One of Sirius's claws scratched her hard across her forearm, finally jarring her to action. "_You like me_?" she uttered in shock, her voice sounding pathetically squeaky.

Had Alfred perhaps known something? Had Dick been given any meds for his wound before they'd arrived? What was she going to say if he really did like like her? The thoughts whirled through Artemis's brain at a staggering pace, leaving her dizzy and grasping the rabbit like he was a fuzzy lifeline.

Dick shrugged. "Or course. You're probably one of my closest friends."

Artemis blanched and then mentally kicked herself.

_Stupid boys_.

But then Dick cocked his head to the side and regarded her. "Although… remember when Tommy and Trinity forced us to…uh," he gave a nervous little laugh, "You know…"

Artemis nodded slowly, her cheeks flushing at the memory and suddenly extremely thankful of the fact that his domino mask covered her eyes.

"Well, um…" Dick, normally so confident and sure of himself, suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable as he fumbled for words.

"It's time to go," Wayne said, quickly entering the room with Barbara in tow, interrupting whatever Dick had been about to say. Artemis deflated like a balloon that had just been punctured, suddenly realizing how very much she wanted to know what Dick had been about to say.

Dick shut his mouth, glanced regretfully at Artemis and then asked his mentor, "What's going on?"

Wayne shot Artemis a penetrating batstare. "I think the Gotham Academy uniform still gives you away," he commented ironically. "Why haven't you updated him yet?"

Artemis was confused for a second, before she realized that he was referring to Dick's domino mask still secured to her face. Now blushing so badly she found new respect for the insufferable redheads in her life, Artemis tore off the mask and nearly flung it at Dick.

He deftly caught it and, unperturbed by the curious eyes, put it back in the drawer on his nightstand. "Updated me on what?" Dick asked, confused.

Batman sighed. "Artemis and Barbara, with Red Arrow, interrupted a meeting at Penguin's Warehouse between the League of Assassins and Jonathan Crane. We managed to apprehend Cheshire and will proceed to use her to find out what they've been planning in Gotham. Artemis has a full debriefing of the incident due tomorrow morning and I'm going to need her assistance with…Cheshire."

It was Dick's turn to gape. "Babs mentioned what went down tonight but I had no idea we were hanging onto her."

"It's a necessary risk," Batman asserted. Barbara cleared her throat and Batman added, albeit a little grudgingly, "And Miss Gordon will now be training with the two of you on your days after school. When she can successfully complete level ten on the obstacle course, I will allow her to patrol."

"With a learner's permit…" Barbara grumbled, but Artemis could tell she was ecstatic.

Batman clarified, "With myself supervising."

Artemis would have been amazed had she not learned in recent weeks never to underestimate Barbara's skills. She smirked at the near scowling Caped Crusader. "Aww, is someone being blackmailed? That is soo adorable!"

Batman glared at her and she clutched at Sirius again. "Let's start off your chores tomorrow evening with a complete re-oiling of every laser drone in the cave."

"But there has to at least a thousand of them down there!" Artemis cried in horror.

It was Batman's turn to smirk. "Well it's a good thing that today's Friday, then."

* * *

><p>With Alfred agreeing to take Barbara home, Wayne and Artemis had left her in Dick's room as they journeyed through the Grandfather Clock and down the winding stairs to the Batcave.<p>

Artemis had tried to catch Dick's eye right as she'd been leaving, still trying to figure out why he'd been drudging up the memory of their paranormal kiss, but he was already saying something to Barbara.

She slipped on one of the stony steps, perpetually wet with moisture from the cave, right as Wayne appeared from the dressing area, pulling his cowl down. "Hurry and change, we'll need to zeta to 18th Street before heading up."

_Oh good_, Batman's paranoia and protocols were still up and over-functioning. All was right with the world.

Artemis dutifully nodded and quickly pulled out her extra suit from the cubby she was given in the small changing area. As she pulled her ponytail through her own cowl and felt the cool cave air still hitting the skin around her eyes, she frowned. Perhaps a domino mask would be a good addition for her costume… it would certainly shut Goosey up about her Asian attributes.

He was a pretty perceptive little blowhard… perhaps it was an archer thing, attention to details and all that.

Whatever the case, Artemis couldn't worry about it at the moment as she could hear Batman already punching in the zeta tube code.

A few minutes and she, fifteen-year old Artemis Crock, was going to be in space.


	17. Target 17

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Young Justice. _

_A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaand…. we're back! Sorry for the delay but back in the UK now and have somewhat settled in. I can't believe Young Justice is still on hiatus but at least I'm hearing rumours now that they'll be back in early March. Reviews would be very much appreciated in this time of need._

* * *

><p>Other than the added anticipation, zeta tubing into space was really no different from any of the other disintegrations that Artemis had undergone, which she found to be more than a little anticlimactic. The view, however, was anything but.<p>

She had materialized on a teleport pad in the middle of a cavernous room at least ten stories high. From a control deck above her, Red Tornado benevolently waved down. Feeling the beginnings of a stupid grin forming on her face, Artemis waved back as she took in all the heroes bustling about their business.

The Brazilian beauty, Fire, and some weird hero in navy and gold spandex with buggy gold eyes were chatting (with buggy-man doing most of the talking and repeatedly shooing away some sort of hovering robot thing when it interrupted their conversation and Fire looking more than a little bored). Hawkgirl flew overhead to convene about some matter with Tornado while a girl not too much older than Goosey, looking like a barbie version of the star spangled banner, was attempting to flirt with an electric blue and very surely hero that could only be Captain Atom. He was only half listening to her as they walked toward the platform where Artemis was still gawking at everyone and everything from.

Trying to snap herself out of it, Artemis did a quick check to make certain she still had ten fingers and ten toes- not that splinching had ever occurred through zeta teleportation, but she was a little paranoid about the whole process- and then quickly jumped off the platform and scanned the area for where Wayne could have gotten off to. That's when the large windows suddenly called to her and Artemis heeded their beckon, slowly walking towards them as though a moth drawn to the flame.

The vastness of Earth loomed right outside the tall windowpane. They were just passing North America and the sun was rising over the horizon of the planet like Apollo reborn as a faint blue halo appeared to frame the scene. Artemis gazed in wonder, thinking of all she'd ever known and all that ever was, there, below her on Earth. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring and everything she'd hoped it would be, and when her eyes started to water and Batman stepped up beside her like a wraith- like Robin- she jumped and tried to quickly hide her tears. Clearing her throat, she asked in a somewhat strangled sounding voice, "So how far up are we?"

"Some hundred twenty miles from the surface." He glanced down at her and then back towards the view. They stood in silence for several moments, side by side, before he turned and began walking down a hallway. "Come on," he urged her. Artemis gave one last look towards the Earth before hurrying to follow.

"Have you ever interrogated anyone before?" he asked without looking at her.

Jogging a bit to keep up with his long stride, Artemis sheepishly responded, "Err…not exactly."

"It will be best to keep Jade waiting a bit longer then. We'll visit Red Arrow first."

"Ho, Batman!" called a knight as they turned the corner. He was accompanied by a masked cowboy.

"Shining Knight. Vigilante," Batman said with a curt nod towards the pair.

"And who's this little lady?" Vigilante enquired, his voice an odd blend of Texan twang and Hollywood wannabe-western.

"I'm…"

"This is Green Arrow's niece," Batman interrupted as he ushered Artemis further down the corridor before either of the heroes could say anything more.

"You won't even trust a knight in shining armour?" Artemis asked, trying to make light of the situation.

Wayne ignored her as he always did when she tried to provide some measure of levity.

Artemis noted that, aside from Vigilante and Shining Knight, none of the other Leaguers they passed tried to say hello to them. They all seemed to be either too busy, or, especially among the lesser-known heroes, too intimidated by Batman. If only they knew the warm and fuzzy side of him like she did.

'_Umm…not_,' Artemis thought ruefully.

As they went down yet another passage, she tried to think of the route they'd come. There had been a right, then a left, and a staircase… or had the staircase been before the second turn? She couldn't remember it all.

"How large is this place?"

Without turning, Batman replied, "The Pentagon has over seventeen miles of corridors. Watchtower has more."

"How much more?"

Batman narrowed his eyes. "More."

Suddenly, a soft alarm sounded and the hall was flooded with flashing blue lights. Artemis only recognised one in ten of the heroes that jogged past, which didn't really surprise her- the League had swelled in membership. What did surprise her was how calm everyone was. "So is this just a call to mess or something?"

Batman turned to consider her for a moment before walking to the nearest display on the wall, and explaining, "Blue alerts indicate natural incidents." In a clear voice, he ordered, "Computer, state the nature of this alert."

After only a moment's pause, an electronic female voice responded, "NIEL twenty-five thousand/forty billion. At 06:24 UTC, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake along the Juan de Fuca- North American fault line triggered a tsunami. There are expected waves of thirty metres along the Pacific Northwest, twenty metres in the American Bay Area, ten met…"

"Thank you, computer," Batman cut it off before turning to Artemis.

Artemis waited for him to say something, but after a few moments of silence, she asked, "NIEL?"

"Non-Intervention Expected Losses."

"So those numbers were…"

"Estimates of twenty-five thousand lives lost and forty billion dollars to reconstruct if the League can't help. The NIEL was devised to prioritise our responses if we're ever stretched too thin."

"How can everyone act so calm?"

"When everyone has a grasp on the situation, there will only be problems if someone panics."

Artemis considered that for a moment before asking, "So what would it take to cause a red alert?"

Batman had already started down the oscillating blue corridor before responding, "A red alert indicates an eminent invasion by a society that is at least a thousand years more advanced than we are." From behind, Artemis couldn't tell if he was completely serious or not.

A few more minutes and a disorientating number of additional turns later, they turned down yet another corridor when Batman finally stopped. "This is the infirmary," he said simply.

The hallway looked like all of the others they'd walked down- metallic with coloured light strips along the walls and gentle lighting overhead. The strips were sporadically broken by doors and what Artemis had first assumed were windows- she'd realised that in most hallways they were just sleeping computer displays that were programmed to simulate windows.

She'd also sussed out from observing the many passers-by that the strips worked as guide ways. If you told any of the computers where you wanted to go, it would tell you a colour to follow and light the way. Batman had never asked the computer for directions, which Artemis took as a not too subtle reminder that she should never depend on any type of assistance.

"How can you tell?" Artemis wondered aloud.

"I designed everything," he said by way of reply as he opened the third door on the right.

A hospital bed with some fairly complicated looking machinery built into the wall above the mantle was the dominant feature of the room. Goose was lying on the bed apparently asleep, and a tall black-haired man wearing a blue trench coat and matching fedora was standing over him. It was only when the man turned that Artemis realised he had no face.

"What are you doing here, Question?" Batman asked, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Is it not possible that I was merely inquiring whether Red Arrow has noticed any gradual shifts in the properties of the wood available to fill his quiver?"

"And has he?"

"Considering you know that Red Arrow uses a composite arrow with an aluminium core, isn't it more prudent for you to forsake our charade and get to the real questions? Although, wouldn't _you_ really want to know if the WSPA, in their bid to overtake WayneCorp via its subsidiary Arcadia Timber Ltd., is making inroads into the preservation of certain species of African locusts? Don't you find it curious that the termite will soon also be making a 'surprising' surge this coming season while lumber prices soar?"

Batman stared at the odd faceless man for an indeterminable length of time, unblinking, before he repeated, "What are you doing here, Question?"

"Isn't what but the form following the function of why? And could _you_ answer _why_ the League of Assassins is interested in the blue poppy fear toxin a certain Mr. Crane engineered for them in Gotham City? Or why two women mysteriously died at a Gotham High School dance in the same manner, with no evidence of foul play- the very same High School Mr. Crane attends?"

Alarmed, Artemis interjected, "What do you know about it?"

Although trenchcloak lacked visible eyes, they seemed to lock onto her face and stare. "Ah, Ms. Crock, has your friend, the Commissioner's daughter, recovered yet from the loss of her pseudo mother figure? How is your own mother dealing with the strain of her estranged daughter's recent visit?"

"What!" Artemis's head was reeling. "Are you trying to tell me that Jade visited my mom? Wait, how do you even know all this? Why do you only speak in questions?" Artemis frowned and took a step back. "How are you making me do the same?"

"Are you to judge me by my questions, or by the answers they lead you to?" Trenchcoat asked, his faceless façade angling to the side as he asked.

Batman intervened. "Enough. You can discuss the merits of Voltaire with Artemis later. Right now, I need you to get me up to speed on everything you know about the League's movements in Gotham." He pressed the open button and the door to the infirmary slid open with a faint 'whoosh'. Wayne gave his implacable silent stare routine for a total of three seconds before the Question reluctantly nodded farewell to Artemis, muttering to her as he passed, "There are no stupid questions, but are you sure you're always seeking the _right_ ones?" and followed him out of the room.

Batman waited until the enigmatic hero was in the hall before he told Artemis, "I'll be back in a half hour. You should have all your notes together by then." Without further ado, he then followed Question and the door slid closed behind him, leaving Artemis alone with a snoozing Red Arrow.

Artemis walked up to his bedside and admired the layers of intricate tubing and wires the archer was imbedded in. His domino mask still covered his face but the rest of his costume was gone, replaced with sweat pants and enough bandages over his shoulder and chest to get him the lead in any number of mummy-themed capers. She leaned slightly closer, examining his face, and noticed that without the normal scowl marring his mouth, he was actually rather handsome.

Not that she would ever admit that to Barbara.

After taking one more second to admire his peaceful face as he slept, Artemis unceremoniously flicked his chin.

"Uuugh…" he moaned, coming to.

"Rise and shine, Goosey," Artemis sing-songed, stepping back a pace.

He noticed her and moaned once more. "And here I thought they wanted me to get better…"


	18. Bullseye

**Aim and Accuracy**

_Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Young Justice. _

_A/N: This is the end of Aim and Accuracy. The sequel is up under the title of 'Hit or Miss'. Thanks for those that stuck around for this and for reviewing. _

"Now, if they really wanted you to get better, don't you think they'd have sent a doctor to be poking you right now instead of me?" Artemis retorted lightly, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

Red Arrow sighed in exasperation, his eyes behind the domino mask searching her face for a moment before they began to wander around the med bay. He tried sitting up then, and collapsed weak as a kitten back against the starched white pillow. "So we've both been allowed up to Mount Olympus," he muttered. "Clearly I have a legit excuse, what's yours?"

Artemis rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms and responded, "Yes, because clearly you're so Godlike right now in your surly mortality." He just stared blankly at her until she felt the urge to fidget boil over. She relented with a groan, pulling up a chair beside his bed and fishing through her bag for her League issued laptop. "Ugh, fine Goosey. Batman ordered me to do your debriefing. Let's just get this over with."

"Do you even know how to do a debriefing?"

Artemis fired up the machine and glanced up at him, the wattage of her smile glaringly bright, "It involves rubbing alcohol, raw wounds, and your screaming apologies right?"

He snorted. "_That_ would be the method of interrogation your family prefers."

Trying to quell the frantic William Tell her heart was pounding out, Artemis took three deep breaths and counted to ten before she did anything rash, like clock Goose over the head with Batman's computer. "Look, if you have something to say, just say it. Because I'm getting pretty fed up with your cryptic case of BS."

"You want a debriefing and for me to cut the crap, well I'll give you both. But I'm warning you right now, a flick of my thumb and the League will come swarming in here, so don't think silencing me is going to do you any favors."

"Darn, and I'd so been looking forward to your silencing."

He ignored her and began, "After Taipei, I briefly lost track of Cheshire. Then I remembered her question about you so I did some digging into your past. I called in a favor from Doctor Roquette and discovered who your mother was." Seething and frightened all at once, Artemis buried her face in the laptop as she typed, avoiding his eyes. "It wasn't hard after that to put the pieces of the puzzle together. But there's one thing I don't get."

Artemis glared, refusing to be baited.

"Why does Green Arrow trust you? For that matter, why does Batman? What have you done to make them so completely forget that you're the daughter of two supervillains and the sister of another?"

Completely still, anger and shame lodged within her heart and throat, Artemis coldly whispered, "That's not your business. How'd you find Cheshire?"

He stared at her impassively for a moment and then opened his mouth, "I…" he trailed off, his face suddenly going slack. Artemis quickly put the laptop aside and stood, worried now that he was experiencing some sort of seizure. She made to call for help but as soon as she stood, he swung out of the bed, tubes and wires stretching, and lunged at her. Too stunned to react, Artemis began to scream only to have him wrap his hands around her throat as he straddled her, his weight pinning her arms to the floor.

Purple spots began to dance before her and she felt her body begin to panic from lack of oxygen. As her head swam, images appeared- Dick's boyish grin, M'gann's fresh-baked cookies, a flash of Barbara's fiery red hair, and the warmth in her mother's eyes as she returned home each night. Slowly, the images grew fuzzy and then faded away entirely and she was left with Roy's expressionless face above, strangling the life out of her.

From far away, she heard him say, "You're not supposed to be here…" and then all she knew was darkness.

When Artemis awoke, she found herself crammed into the medical bay's supply closet, her hands unbound but medical tape covering her mouth.

_So Goose had gone bananas but still retained enough of his sanity to make jokes_… She ripped it off quickly and stifled the screech of pain that begged to follow. She found her laptop where she'd left it on the ground but Roy was gone, his wires and tubes unconnected and the heart monitor still flat-lining ominously.

Expanding her compact bow and positioning an arrow at the ready, Artemis carefully slunk out of the medbay. The hallways were completely disserted and the normal lights that guided you along the floor were out. In the dark, the only light came from the holo windows and the real ones, Artemis not being expert enough to tell the difference but grateful that the power still seemed to be working.

As she approached the main hangar, a pervasive silence alerted Artemis to the eerie scene before she came upon it- the entire Justice League, standing at attention as Goose, now suited up, Cheshire, completely unfettered, and Batman went to the Zeta tube.

"Override. Batman, zero-two," Bruce commanded, his fingers flying over the coordinate pad.

'Recognized,' the computer chirped back as the familiar zeta process initiated. A dark, hulking figure dressed in an immaculate black and red suit emerged from the tube and the computer identified the stranger. 'Vandal Savage, A-zero-four.'

Immediately, all the members of the Justice League and Jade bowed down as one to the newcomer, except for Roy, who grasped his head as though a migraine had just set in. Now seemingly aware of his surroundings for the first time, he staggered backward. "I..I was the mole?" he gasped in shock.

The Vandal Savage character smirked, and stepping down from the tube like a King on his way to inspect his troops, murmured, "Yes, yes you were," and then ignored Roy and the still bowed League to go and gaze serenely out the large windows at the Earth, as though he didn't have a care in or outside the world.

Roy reeled for a moment, staggering under the weight of this revelation before the opportunity hit him and he hightailed it into the zeta tube, disappearing. Jade made no move to stop him but asked the cave guy if he wanted her to follow him. Savage turned serenely to the awaiting League and declined her, instead ordering Green Arrow, Flash, and Aquaman to chase him down.

Creepy Klarion the witch-boy next appeared, and by this time, Artemis had decided that lying low would serve in her best interests until she found an alternative route off the Watchtower. She made her way as stealthily as she could down the levels, having to double back several dozen times over the next few hours until she finally found the hangar bay. She saw Elastic Man moving some crates but as he was one of the Leaguers she'd witnessed making homage to Savage, she stayed in the shadows, trying to find any ships or hidden zeta transporters accidentally lying about.

Artemis just about had a heart attack when Kid Flash came out of nowhere and implanted something into Elastic Man's neck, rendering the extra stretchy pile of spandex comatose.

"_Kid Flash_!" Artemis hissed as loudly as she dared. He whirled around, his expression mirroring her own astonishment.

He supersped over and tackled her with a fierce hug. "Artemis! Wedidn'tknowwhathadhappenedtoyou! … RedArrowcouldn'trememberwhereyouwere!"

"Wally!" Artemis hugged him back and couldn't help but grin at his superspeed speaking. She pulled away and turned to see M'gann, Conner, Wolf, Aqualad, Zatanna, and Robin running over to join them.

Her eyes finding Dick's beneath the domino mask and casually flicking over his torso where she estimated his wounds to be seeping blood under the bandages about now, she put a hand on her hip and asked, "Would someone like to catch me up to speed here, Wally not withstanding, so I can understand why the League is now working for some Neanderthal and witch-boy?"

Aqualad stepped up, "Red Arrow is a clone of the real Roy Harper. He was programmed to infiltrate and infect the League with the nano-tech engineering we have seen over the past several months. We have managed to deactivate Black Canary, and she, Red Arrow, and Red Tornado are going to try to create a diversion for us on the main level while we use Red Tornado's reverse engineered Starro-tech cure and vaccine to pick off the League one by one and retake the Watchtower."

Artemis flicked out her compact bow. "Sounds like a party to me."

The team split up- Zatanna and M'ann clearing the levels between the hangar and the main deck while Wally and Kaldur handled the ever-increasing amount of Leaguers flooding into the hangar. Artemis went with Robin, Conner, and Wolf to the primary deck.

Before they'd even made it past the medbay, they were accosted by Hawkgirl, her Thanagarian mace swinging by so dangerously close to Artemis's face that should could feel the hair on her cheek tingling.

With their telepathic linkup, Artemis heard Conner shout, _Down_! And ducked right as Wolf tackled the angel-woman to the ground. Artemis swiftly planted one of the vaccine patches on her neck and jumped up in time to see Wonder Woman herself now barreling down on them.

Artemis and Robin lobbed several explosive tipped arrows and batarangs at the Amazon but she easily deflected them all. Conner jumped over them to meet her and attempted to get behind her long enough to put her in some kind of hold, but it was no use, she was too strong for him.

_Conner, help Robin_! Artemis ordered, notching a new arrow and letting it fly at her heroine. As she hoped she would, Wonder Woman caught it before it reached her face and the gas grenade on the end of the arrow exploded. As the Amazon began to cough and wave the vapors away, Conner threw the acrobatic Robin at her and he rolled under her and then popped up to plant the patch before she knew where he'd gone.

There was no time to celebrate however because before Wonder Woman had even hit the ground, Batman was looming over Artemis and Conner and Superman had appeared behind Robin.

Momentarily frozen, Artemis could only watch as Conner propelled himself at the Man of Steel with a fierce cry, Wolf gamely following. Robin likewise launched himself at their mentor, throwing several smoke pellets to create a cover.

As the two engaged in a martial display that was well beyond her own capabilities, Artemis aimed her bow and began firing sludge bombs under Batman's feet in an effort to slow him down. It worked for a time, but eventually Batman used her own arrows to mire down Robin and hooked him so hard, he fell through the hole down to where she could glimpse Conner lying, limp and beaten.

Batman turned to her then and Artemis was left to fire her arrows, what she had left, regardless of type, at him, as fast as she possibly could in order to keep him at a distance. Within half a minute, he had broken through her line and gave her such a powerful right hook that she thought her jaw must have surely shattered. She fell to the ground, reeling, only to see Robin fly into Batman like a red and black cannon, punching the Caped Crusader into the wall. As he fell, Robin twisted and planted the vaccine into Batman's neck.

She shuddered at the sickening thud Bruce made upon his impact with the ground as Dick spring-boarded off him to land gracefully on his feet. Conner had finally gotten Superman into a chokehold, but it was extremely tenuous. Robin grabbed a tiny black box from Bruce's utility belt and looked at the straining Superduo.

_You sure about this_?

"JUST DO IT!" Conner screamed.

Robin flipped open the box, revealing an emerald glow that could only mean Kryptonite. As the Superduo passed out of consciousness, Artemis scrambled up and quickly planted the vaccine patch on Superman. Robin helped up a rather shaky Conner and the three of them sprinted as best they could to the command deck to find Savage, Cheshire, and witch-boy beating a hasty retreat and the rest of the team catching up behind them.

Red Tornado, his arms and legs shredded from his torso, craned his neck and robotically intoned, "Congratulations team, you have won the day."

_Hip hip hurray_… Artemis thought grimly as she surveyed the scene of chaos and destruction, heroes lying hurt, confused, and unconscious all around them.

At that moment, the computer flared to life and announced, 'Happy New Year, Justice League.'

Shrugging at the glitch (because Thanksgiving was actually nearer at hand), Artemis turned with a smirk to Dick, prepared to bring on a sequel of their Halloween liplock, only to find Wally next to her instead. He smiled shyly, and before she had time to protest, had lifted her into his arms and kissed her. It was a nice pressure, and while her lips were slightly parted out of surprise, he didn't try to make it into anything more before pulling away.

"Happy New Year," he whispered with a small smile.

"Happy Year," Artemis replied breathlessly.

He set her back down but his eyes didn't leave hers. Nor did his arm that was wrapped securely and rather warmly around her bare waist. Unnerved, Artemis sought out the rest of her team to find them engaged in similar activities. For M'gann and Conner, this was hardly surprising, but for Robin and Zatanna, Artemis nearly howled.

Robin mercifully broke off the kiss first, holding her at arms length but he was grinning a stupid boy grin. Artemis couldn't hear what was said, but she knew that if the opportunity arose in that moment that Zatara was allowed to switch the Helmet of Fate with his daughter, Artemis would not have felt the least bit of remorse.

But the jealousy quickly cooled as soon as Robin's eyes locked on her and Wally behind his domino mask and they narrowed before he released Zatanna entirely and staggered before falling.

Forgetting about everything else in that instant, Artemis ran to his side and grabbed his gloved hand, clutching it tight. "I was going to ask how you pulled all of this off with your wounds, wonderboy."

Grimacing, with his breathing coming in shallow bursts, Dick muttered, "I may or may not have convinced our new Batgirl to give me a shot of adrenaline and sneak me out before you know who realized I was gone."

"He's going to be very cross with you," Artemis said before she turned to Conner. "Help me take him to the medbay, I think I can find it."

Aqualad put a hand on Artemis's shoulder as she prepared to follow the two, "Make sure he is stable before you come back. The rest of us will manage with helping the League."

She nodded. "I will."

With Conner gone, Artemis felt no shame in stripping Dick down to his pants. He or Barbara, or the both of them, had wrapped his wounds excessively tight and had obviously doubled the wrapping, but fresh blood was already pulsing under the layers of linen and Dick's face was whitening to an alarming pallor even as she watched him.

"Taking that shot was a very stupid thing to do," Artemis said matter-of-factly as she methodically unwrapped his soiled bandages and hunted around the closet she'd woken up in to find some suitable replacements. "And I didn't think you were stupid. And just how is it that you're always getting nursed around?" She applied some topical dressing and went to re-wrapping. "Stop getting hurt all the time, it's really no fun for the rest of us."

"But you're getting really good at the nurse thing…" Robin weakly pointed out. When Artemis scowled at him, he closed his eyes and sighed. "Plus, there was no way I was going to sit this out when Wally told me what Red Arrow had said."

"Well, I guess kudos for heroing up to save the world and all, but if you had died it wouldn't really have…"

"No," he whispered, taking off his mask and opening his eyes- his extremely blue Dick Grayson eyes- and catching her off guard. "It was the part where he'd said you were still on board the Watchtower with Savage and a mind controlled League, and he wasn't sure what he'd done to you or where you were or if you were even still alive, that had me raiding Alfred's medical cabinet and forcing Barbara to shoot me up with adrenaline."

"She has good aim. You could have died."

Dick cocked his head to the side on the pillow, regarding her thoughtfully through half-closed lids. "Is it the aim or the accuracy that counts in the end?"

"I think it all depends on if your target was worth hitting."

"I think Tommy and Trinity targeted us for a reason, Artemis." The way his voice faded away on her name, combined with the way his blue eyes seemed to be drilling into her own, Artemis felt her stomach flutter, in a very revoltingly girly way- and, it occurred to her, in a way that Wally's kiss had not.

Feeling a shakiness that had nothing to do with her exhaustion or sores, she breathed, "You're on a roll, Mr. Grayson, don't let me or Bruce's untimely arrival stop you now."

He grinned. "Zatanna grabbed me before I could wish you a Happy mission success."

Artemis looked around them conspiratorially, "You could always wish me well for auld lang syne… I mean, that never gets old, right? Plus, I'm very curious why you keep bringing up Tommy and…"

Dick placed both his hands on either side of her face over her ears and dragged her mouth down to his. It was an odd angle and the medbay was somewhat cold and definitely sterile, but as soon as their lips met, nothing else really mattered. Artemis supposed that's what hitting the right target was supposed to mean.


End file.
